The True Story of Anthony Goldstein
by tired mommy
Summary: We know Anthony was a Jewish half blood and Ravenclaw prefect, but what else do we know about him? This is the story of a Jewish boy who had to suffer with a burden that others would consider a gift- magic.
1. Ari Goldstein

Esther Goldstein waddled out of the elevator and into the maternity ward of the hospital. Immediately, a nurse walked over to her and asked her name.

"Esther Goldstein," she said. She stopped to take deep breaths.

"How frequent are your contractions?" The nurse asked.

"Every five minutes," Esther said. "My husband is parking and will come up soon."

"If you have a car phone, I would suggest having him stop off ad admissions on his way up to have you admitted," the nurse advised.

"We don't have a car phone," Esther said. Her face screwed up in pain as if her insides were ripping open.

"I guess we'll have to send him back down when he comes," the nurse said ruefully. "Let's get you into A&E."

A few minutes later, Esther was on a bed, surrounded by nurses.

"I want an epidural," she said firmly.

"First we need to confirm that you are in labor," the head nurse said.

"I'm in labor," Esther protested. "I want an epidural."

"We need to do an exam first to verify that you are in labor," the nurse insisted. "We can't go by your word alone."

After a brief exam, the nurse exclaimed, "You're ten centimeters dilated! You're definitely ready to be admitted."

"I want an epidural," Esther said again.

"I'm sorry honey, but it's too late for the epidural. The baby will be born very soon."

At that moment, Meir Goldstein walked into the triage room.

"Did you go to admissions?" the nurse asked.

Meir nodded.

"I'll make sure you're in the system and get you into a room," she said, exiting the room.

A few minutes later, Meir and Esther were settling into the delivery room. Esther shoed Meir out when the nurse walked in.

"Your doctor should be here in around an hour," the nurse said. "He is just leaving his home now. Try not to push until he comes."

The head nurse rolled her eyes. "Push when you want," she said. "We know how to deliver babies here. Your doctor just wants to make sure he gets paid for the delivery."

Esther was relieved when the doctor walked into the room an hour later.

"Let's get this show on the road," he said cheerfully, as if it wasn't four o'clock in the morning.

After a painful fifteen minutes, a cry was heard.

"Mazel tov, it's a boy!" the doctor exclaimed.

Meir ran over from the spot near the door where he was pacing.

"Why is he so dark?" Esther asked, looking confused at the purple faced baby.

"That's only because the cord is wrapped around his neck," the doctor said. "I'm cutting it now."

Esther tried to rest for the few hours she had before she could call people. Finally, at six thirty, she called her mother.

"Hi, mommy!" she said cheerfully. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was up for a half hour already," her mother said. "Nu?" she asked curiously.

Esther decided to drag it out as long as possible. Just because her baby was four days late doesn't give everyone else the right to be impatient.

"I'm not home," she said.

"I figured as much," her mother said. "Well?"

"Yeah, I'm at the hospital," Esther said slowly.

"And?" her mother prompted her.

"I had a baby over two hours ago," Esther said, "but I figured you were sleeping, so I didn't call earlier."

"What did you have?" her mother asked eagerly.

"A boy," Esther said calmly.

"Mazel tov!" her mother exclaimed. "We'll have to plan the shalom zachar and bris."

"That can wait a few hours," Esther said. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Go to sleep," her mother ordered. "I'll talk to you later."

A few hours later, Esther woke up and saw Meir sitting in her room.

"Do you know what you want to name the baby?" Meir asked.

"I thought we already agreed that we're naming him after your father," Esther said.

"What about an English name?" asked Meir.

"What for?" Esther scorned. "Nobody in our family has an English name."

"I wished I did when I was at Hogwarts," Meir said.

"Do you think this baby is magical?" Esther asked.

"It's too early to tell," Meir said, "but some witches and wizards are very prejudiced. I think we should give him an English name that doesn't sound Jewish."

"I don't like that idea," Esther argued. "We don't know if he will be going to Hogwarts. Hopefully, he isn't magical, and even if he is, I'm not about to send away my little baby."

"Not now," Meir said. "In eleven years, you will have to."

"I don't see why," Esther protested.

"I already told you," Meir said. "My family asked Rabbi Kohn since he's the only one who knows that my parents are magical. My parents and grandparents saved many Jews during the holocaust with their magic, but six million died who they couldn't get to. Rabbi Kohn said many more lives may have been saved if they would have been allowed into magical school in Germany. In case there's another war, if the baby is magical, he needs to know what he can to protect as many people as possible."

"I'm not sending my baby out to war," Esther said.

"No," Meir agreed, "But when he's an adult, it would be better for him to be trained."

"What name were you thinking of? Aaron?" suggested Esther.

"No," Meir said. "Aaron is English for Aharon, and besides, it's too Jewish sounding."

"Alex?" Esther suggested.

"No," Meir said again. "That's more for kids who were named after Alexander the Great. We're not having a little Sendy."

"So what name do you like?" Esther asked.

"I was thinking of Anthony," Meir said hesitantly.

"That's as not Jewish as you could get," Esther exclaimed. "That name has Christian roots! It's not a good name for a Jewish boy."

"Did I tell you that there's a war going on in the magical world now?" Meir said. "Hopefully it will end before the baby is Hogwarts age, but prejudice will always exist. Goldstein is such a Jewish last name, that I want a first name that will confuse people and make them question his Jewishness. Also, my father's name was Aryeh Tuvia. If we're not going to be calling him by both names, at least his English name could use both initials."

"I still don't like it," Esther said. "Maybe you should get Rabbi Kohn's opinion."

"I'll call him later," Meir said. "I have to anyway to find out if we could do the bris in his shul."

A week later, Esther handed her baby, dressed in white, on a white pillow, to her younger sister who passed the baby to her husband. The husband brought the baby to Meir. Esther clutched her siddur as she heard her baby cry. She waited anxiously until Rabbi Kohn's voice called out, "Aryeh Tuvia ben Meir."

Esther eagerly took her baby from her sister.

"Come, Ari," she said softly. "Let's get you fed."

"So you're calling him Ari," the new aunt asked.

"I think so," Esther said. "Aryeh Tuvia is too long. I like the name Ari."

She didn't tell anyone that the birth certificate that was filed during their hospital stay listed his name as Anthony Goldstein. After all, what are the chances that this little baby will be magical?


	2. Accidental Magic

Four-year-old Ari Goldstein listened outside his parents' bedroom door. He could only pick up a few random phrases, but none of them seemed to make sense.

"He needs to know." That was Tatti's voice.

"He's too young. It won't affect him either way. It has nothing to do with him." That was Mommy.

There was a lot more that he couldn't hear, but it didn't seem to make sense. Didn't he already know everything? What doesn't have to do with him?

"If anything happens in yeshiva…" Ari couldn't hear the rest of this sentence.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He threw open the door and demanded, "What are you talking about?"

"You're very nosy," Tatti said.

Ari stomped out of the room. It's not true, he thought angrily. They were not talking about his nose! He knew that he had a nose and it does affect him! Besides, what does his nose have to do with yeshiva? Finally, he opened their door again.

"Are you still talking about my nose?" he asked. He didn't understand why his mother started laughing at his question.

"No, now we're talking about your foot," Tatti said calmly.

"Maybe you're right," Mommy said to Tatti, "but I don't think he can keep a secret."

"Of course I can keep a secret!" Ari said. "I didn't tell Bubby when Uncle Dovid was sick!"

"No you didn't," Mommy agreed. "Instead you said, 'Uncle Dovid won't be coming to visit today, so Bubby figured out that something was going on."

"But I still didn't tell," Ari said smugly.

"Yes, but if you tell this, I could get in trouble," Tatti said. "The only reason I want to tell you is so that if it happens to you, you will know what to do."

"If what happens to me?" Ari asked.

Tatti walked across the room and took a stick out of his drawer.

"Why do you keep a stick in your drawer?" Ari wanted to know.

Tatti flicked the stick and the dresser lifted a few feet off the ground.

"Teach me how," Ari begged.

"I can't teach you," Tatti told him. "Either you're magical or you're not, and we don't know yet if you are. The only reason I want to tell you that magic exists is in case you do accidental magic in yeshiva. You need to know what's happening so you can tell the school to call me, but you can't tell anyone that it's magic."

"So what do I say?" Ari asked.

"You could say that you're not feeling well or something," Tatti told him, "But chances are nothing will happen anyway."

During Ari's first year of school, he looked around carefully for signs of magic, but didn't see any. After a while, he forgot about magic until the spring after Ari turned five. It was recess time, and some boys were playing a very wild game of cops and robbers. Ari had no intention of playing, as he didn't want to get hurt. All of a sudden, three boys pounced on him. Ari tried telling them that he's not playing, but they didn't listen and dragged him across the playground, his back and arms scraping against the concrete. To make it worse, one boy decided to sit on his stomach and scratch him. Just when Ari thought he couldn't take it anymore, the boys vanished. He sat up slowly and saw them sitting on the bench, looking scared. He wondered if Morah called them and slowly walked over to them. One of the boys, Ezra, opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Ari suddenly realized what happened.

"Can you call my father?" he asked Morah.

"Why?" Morah asked.

Ari lifted his shirt, showing the bloody scrapes along his back. He rolled up his sleeves to display the matching scrapes on his arms. Finally, he faced his teacher and lifted his shirt again; showing big ugly scratch marks all over his stomach. Morah turned to the three boys on the bench.

"Did you do that?" she demanded angrily.

None of the boys moved.

"I told them to wait there until my father comes," Ari lied. "I guess they're scared of him."

"Moishy, go upstairs and get Rabbi Marcus," she ordered.

Moishy sat on the bench and didn't move.

"They're not going to move until my father comes," Ari said again.

"Tzviki," Morah called to one of the boys still playing. "Can you run upstairs and get Rabbi Marcus? Tell him that Ari got hurt."

A few minutes later, the deputy headmaster ran into the yard, followed by Tzviki.

"What happened?" he asked Ari.

Ari showed off his wounds and said, "Do you know the game cops and robbers?"

"I do," Rabbi Marcus said, "and the cops are not supposed to be hurting the robbers. That's called using excessive force and its illegal. Are these the cops?" he asked looking at the three boys on the bench.

"They're not moving or saying anything until my father comes to yell at them," Ari said. "Can you call my father?"

"I will now," Rabbi Marcus said, "but I don't think you need stitches. Next time, don't threaten your classmates with your father. I'm in the school for a reason."

It wasn't long before Tatti ran to the school yard. He withdrew his stick from his sleeve and all three boys got off the bench. Tatti grabbed Ari and left before anyone could ask questions.

"So I guess you are magical," Tatti told Ari.

"They hurt me," Ari said. "You were supposed to yell at them."

"I think you scared them enough," Tatti told him. "I changed their memories so they won't remember this."

At home, Tatti used magic to heal Ari's scrapes, but some white scars remained. When Mommy came home, Tatti told her what happened and said, "It looks like Ari is headed for Hogwarts!"

"What's Hogwarts?" Ari asked.

"It's a magical school," Tatti answered.

"Can I go there now?" Ari wanted to know.

"Not until you're eleven," Tatti said. "That's usually the age when people could control their magic."

"Where is it?" Ari asked eagerly.

"Up north," Tatti answered.

"How will I get there?"

"There's a train that goes there every year on September 1st," Tatti told him.

"But then how do I get there the other days?" Ari asked.

"You stay there all week and only go home for Shabbos, Yom Tov, and summer," Tatti said.

"So how come the train only goes on September 1st?" Ari asked.

"Because you will be the only one going home for Shabbos," Tatti explained. "I was the only Jew in Hogwarts when I was there. It's not a Jewish school."

"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari said. "I want to stay home."

"You're still young," Tatti told him. "We'll see in six years what you are up to."

"I'm not going," Ari said stubbornly. "I'll make sure never to do any more magic."

Ari managed not to do magic for two years. He was a friendly boy and didn't usually get into fights. One day when he was seven, Shlomo was sent to the headmaster's office for hitting Ari during recess. When Shlomo came back to class, he spit on Ari's yarmulke. Ari felt himself getting very angry. He was wearing the new yarmulke that he wore to Tanta Shevi's wedding last month. It has his name on it, and Mommy wanted him to save it for Shabbos, but he insisted it will be okay in school. Now, Shlomo ruined it. As Ari seethed quietly in his seat, Shlomo's yarmulke lifted off of his head and floated over to Ari. As it landed on Ari's head, the spit covered yarmulke made it's way to Shlomo's head. One at time, the letters spelling out Aryeh Tuvia travelled from the yarmulke on Shlomo's head to the clean yarmulke on Ari's head. The most remarkable part was that nobody else in the class noticed.

Ari felt bad about doing magic again. He realized that it happened because he was angry. He decided he will never get angry again.

Over the years, Ari was often called a malach or a tzaddik by his teachers. It seemed that no matter what anyone did, Ari didn't get upset. He was always calm and was able to remain focused on his lessons no matter what was going on. The best part was that as long as Ari controlled himself, he had no more magic. Hopefully, he won't have to go to Hogwarts after all.

During his last year of primary school, everyone was talking about their plans for next year. Almost everyone was staying at their local yeshiva. Shlomo's parents considered sending him to a dormitory but haven't decided yet. Ari told his friends he will probably stay here, but that his father mentioned the possibility of dorming. He was pretty sure it wouldn't happen until the day that Nosson stole his book.

At the end of the school day, Ari put the books he needed for his homework on his desk and went to get his coat from the closet. He was surprised when he went back for his books to see that a book he needed for a report was gone. He asked what happened and Nosson grinned at him.

"I put your book in my knapsack," Nosson taunted. "Now I'll finally score higher than you on an assignment."

"Give it back," Ari said, trying not to get angry.

"Nope," Nosson grinned. "I'm taking it home with me so that you can't do your work."

"I really need it," Ari told him. "I think it will be better for you if I don't tell any teachers that you took my book."

"I'll just tell the teachers you're lying," Nosson said.

All of a sudden, Nosson's knapsack tore open. Ari quickly picked up his book.

"Maybe I'll dorm for secondary school after all," he said sadly.


	3. I Don't Want to Go to Hogwarts

It was a hot Tuesday morning. Ari cheerfully walked into the kitchen and popped two waffles into the toaster. He sat down at the table to wait for them to pop when he saw something crash against his window. He watched in horror as the brown blur crashed against his closed kitchen window repeatedly.

"Help!" Ari screamed. "There's something trying to get through our window!"

Mommy and Tatti came running. Mommy looked panicked when she saw the creature, but Tatti just opened the window and watched as an owl flew in. The owl flew directly to Ari.

"Get it away from me!" Ari shrieked.

"There's a letter for you," Tatti said with a smile. "Untie it from his foot."

"You mean I have to touch it?!" Ari gasped.

"Get used to it," Tatti said. "We're going to be sending you food every day via owl when you're in Hogwarts. Now take off your letter before the owl gets angry."

Ari hesitantly untied his letter from the owl and cowered in fear as he looked at it.

"This envelope is strange," Ari said, as his father gave the owl some breakfast. "It's addressed to Anthony Goldstein, not Ari, and it says the blue and white bedroom. Who cares what colors my bedroom is?"

"On your birth certificate, we wrote Anthony," Tatti explained. "I wanted to make sure that you're not dealing with anti Semitism at Hogwarts."

"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari whined.

"Read your letter," Tatti said. "We don't want to keep the owl waiting all day."

Ari read: "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I'm not a witch!" Ari exclaimed.

"No, you're a wizard," his father confirmed. "Continue your letter."

"Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf, Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)."

"I don't know what any of that means," Ari complained.

"That's not important," his father said. "It's just Dumbledore's many titles. Continue to your letter."

"Dear Mr. Goldstein,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress."

"I still don't want to go," Ari whined.

"Can you wait for my son's response?" Tatti asked the owl.

The owl hooted and flew onto the counter.

"Here are a pen and a piece of paper," Tatti said. "Now write, Dear Professor McGonagall, I would like to accept my place at Hogwarts-"

"That's a lie!" Ari exclaimed. "I don't want to go to Hogwarts!"

"Fine," Tatti said. "So write I can only go to Hogwarts if I have the same religious accommodations that my father had. I will need to floo home-"

"Don't you mean fly home?" Ari interrupted.

"No," Tatti said, "I mean floo with two o's. It's a kind of magical transportation. I'll teach it to you soon. Now stop interrupting."

"I will need to floo home before every Sabbath and all Jewish holidays. I will only be able to eat kosher food which will be provided by my parents. Those conditions are important before I can accept my place at Hogwarts."

"I still don't want to go," Ari complained.

"Just write it," Tatti ordered. "The owl is waiting."

Ari wrote what his father said, grumbling the whole time. Tatti tied the letter to the owl and it left. An hour later, the owl returned with a reply from McGonagall saying that they will accommodate Ari and they look forward to seeing him September 1.

"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari said again.

"Why not?" Tatti asked.

"It's not Jewish," Ari complained.

"Did you know that during the holocaust your grandparents and great grandparents saved many Jews using magic?"

"The holocaust is over," Ari said. "I don't need to save anyone."

"We never know what will happen in the future," Tatti told him. "Now, do you want to know more about Hogwarts, or do you want to be surprised when you get there?"

"I guess I should know," Ari said, "But I still don't want to go."

"When you come, you will be sorted into houses. There are four houses. I was a Hufflepuff; they're known for hard work and loyalty. You may end up a Hufflepuff like me, or you may be a Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws are known for being smart and studious. Gryffindors are known for being brave, while Slytherins are known for being ambitious. Some of the Slytherins gave me a hard time about being Jewish, but my fellow Hufflepuffs always defended me."

"During your first two years you only take the basic subjects. Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration; that means how to turn one item into another. Imagine a Nazi coming at you with a gun and you transfigure it into a radio. You could use transfiguration to save yourself.

"Professor Flitwick taught Charms when I was there. I don't know if he's still there, but there are lots of useful charms. I showed you one when you were four, when I lifted the dresser. There are charms to make things bigger or smaller, to make things move, to block things, and to do almost everything. You could do a shield charm if you're being attacked."

"Another important subject is Defense Against Dark Arts, but the school hasn't succeeded in keeping any teacher for more than a year when I was there. I don't know who is teaching it now, but it's an important subject if the teacher is competent."

"Professor Sprout taught Herbology. That's about magical plants. You always liked gardening, so you will probably enjoy that class. I don't know if she's still there, but she started teaching my first year."

"Professor Slughorn taught Potions. I don't know if he's still there. Potions is similar to chemistry. You always loved science, so you should probably like potions. Just don't blow anything up."

"But that's the best part of science," Ari protested. "I love making volcanoes and other explosions."

"And what does Mrs. Katz say about that?" Tatti prompted.

"No explosions in the classroom," Ari muttered, thinking of his science teacher who still let him do his cool experiments. "I could only explode things in the yard."

"The worse subject I had to take was History of Magic," Tatti continued. "It was taught by a boring ghost named Professor Binns."

"There are ghosts?" Ari asked incredulously.

"Hogwarts has many ghosts," Tatti said with a smile. "They're all harmless, but Binns is boring. History was a waste of time."

"The last subject you will take is Astronomy, and that's taken at midnight," Tatti continued. "I was never really awake enough to notice who taught it. I'm not a night person."

"I still don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari complained.

"I think after you have a talk with Oma you will change your mind," Tatti said. "She could tell you how she used magic during the holocaust."


	4. Oma's Story

Ari washed and took his usual seat at the Shabbos table. After being given a slice of challah, he took a bite and sat quietly. He eyed the fish on the table, but didn't reach for anything.

"Ari got his Hogwarts letter this week," Tatti told Oma.

"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari grumbled.

"I wish I got to go to a school like Hogwarts," Oma said. "In Germany, Jews weren't allowed to attend magical schools. All the Jewish magicals kept to themselves for safety reasons."

"You mean there are more of us?" Ari asked curiously.

"Not in Europe," Oma said. "Did you learn in Navi about when Shaul Hamelech killed all the witches?"

"He accidently left one alive," Ari remembered. "But then he used the witch's services when he wanted to talk to Shmuel after he died."

"Shaul Hamelech left one Jewish witch alive," Oma agreed. "She married someone who is not magical, also known as a muggle, and had two kids. Her oldest married a muggle. Her second child married the child of her oldest."

"That's strange," Ari said.

"You have to understand that they were trying to keep magic a secret," Oma said. "They didn't want to get killed. After that, they kept a record of every child born in the family, and everyone married cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, or nephews. As the family grew, the cousins became more distant, making marriage easier, but the family always stayed together for safety. When the Romans destroyed the Bais Hamikdash, all the magicals were sold as slaves in what is now Germany. They all used their magic to gain freedom, and lived together in a big house on a hill. They occasionally rescued other Jews who they saw suffering, but made sure to wipe their memories after so that they won't know they were saved with magic."

"In the 1400s, the Jewish magicals were still living in the big house on the hill. As the families grew, so did the house. It separated into separate parts to give each family their own space. People made sure to keep track of every birth and marriage in order to know how you were related to your spouse before marriage. Parents taught their children whatever magic they knew. Often, for fun, they tried charms out on the house itself, giving children the opportunity to really practice their magic. One day, someone decided to turn the outside of the house into gold stone. The muggles, both Jewish and not Jewish, always talked about the gold house on the hill. Our people kept to themselves to avoid persecution. When last names started, it was decided that everyone living in the gold stone house will use the last name Goldstein, which means gold stone."

"In 1850, the first of the magical Goldsteins decided to move to America. They felt crowded in the spacious mansions and wanted to mingle with people they weren't related to. All the other Goldsteins protested and said it will be hard to keep track of the Jewish magicals if they leave, but they left anyway. They said that in America, Jews could go to the same magical schools and not Jewish people. They wrote whenever there was a birth or marriage so we could keep up the records. In 1870, another Goldstein family decided to leave. The same thing happened in 1890, 1910, and 1930. Those of us who stayed knew that the Goldsteins in America did not only marry Jews so not all their children were Jewish. We were bothered by the assimilation and intermarriage and felt we were doing the right thing by staying in Germany.

"In 1933, Hitler became powerful in Germany. It was no secret that he didn't like Jews. In April of 1933, Jews were no longer allowed to work at many jobs. My parents and Opa's parents wanted to help the struggling Jews in the nearby cities, but the rest of the Goldsteins felt it wasn't safe. In 1935, Jewish patients were not allowed in German hospitals. My parents and some of the others offered to heal people secretly, but made sure they didn't know they were being healed with magic."

"On November 9th 1938, the Germans went crazy. They were looting and destroying Jewish homes and businesses and killing random Jews. Most of the Goldsteins portkeyed to America as soon as things got bad. The only ones who stayed were me, my parents, opa, and his parents. We casted protective spells on as many Jewish houses, businesses, and shuls as we could, and for the first time since Shaul ordered our destruction, we contacted a Jewish rabbi. We told him that we're from the gold house on the hill and we're the only ones left; that everyone else fled. We said we could duplicate exit visa for anyone who has and that once we find a safe place, we could bring people there undetected. We told him that we need a way to communicate with all the rabbis in Europe so that we could get to places when the danger is occurring. He gave us a list of all the Jewish communities he knew about, and wrote us letters of recommendation. We made up a secret way of contacting each other using magic notebooks. Anything any of the rabbis wrote in their notebooks would show up in my parents' and in-laws' notebooks. They looked for a safe community that wasn't too populated and finally chose Edinburgh. What they didn't realize was that they would be called to different places the same time, and obviously couldn't help everyone."

"At first, the Nazis would go to a Jewish community, round everyone up, have them dig a big hole, and shoot all the Jews so they would die in the grave they dug themselves. Whenever we got a message from a Jewish community going through that, we each had our jobs. I was the one who distracted the Nazis. Your grandfather would explain to people that we were here to save them, while our parents would bring ten people at a time to Edinburgh. They used a portkey, but modified everyone's memories so they would think they travelled by submarine. Unfortunately, we didn't get to every community on time, and may Jews were killed."

"The Nazis didn't like this method and decided to switch to concentration camps. Whenever we got a message about a roundup, we did the same thing, but it was much harder now. Everyone besides me made themselves invisible first. I had to be visible to distract the Nazis. Many Rabbis did not believe us or did not want to rely on kishuf to be saved, while many others called us too late, but we saved whoever we can. It still wasn't enough. Once all the remaining Jews were in concentration camps, my parents and in-laws stationed themselves in Auschwitz, while Opa and I remained in Edinburgh with the people who were rescued. Every so often, we would find ten almost dead bodies in our living room and would try every healing spell we knew to save the people my parents rescued. And still, the Nazis killed six million Jews."

"We were shocked when your father got his Hogwarts letter. Like you, we didn't think a school of magic was a good setting for a Jewish boy. But one thing we learned during the holocaust is that we need our rabbis. Rabbi Kohn's father was the first rabbi we contacted back in Germany. It was only logical that we discussed our dilemma with him. He said to send your father to Hogwarts; that maybe if we knew more magic, more Jews would be saved."

"Your father learned many spells that we never learned. He made sure to teach them to us so we will be prepared if there's another war. Opa died before you were born. My parents and Opa's parents died many years before that. They were never the same after their time in Auschwitz. It could be that if we had magical schooling we would have made more of a difference."

"There are only three Jewish magical people left in Europe: myself, you, and your father. I'm not going to live forever. It's crucial that you learn whatever defensive magic you can, because if there's ever another Hitler, it will be your job to defend the Jewish people."

"I still don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari said quietly.

"I know," Oma said. "But you will go anyway and learn all that you can."

Ari was quiet the rest of the meal.


	5. Diagon Alley

"We need to buy your school supplies," Tatti said on Sunday morning.

"Where do we get them?" Ari asked.

"Diagon Alley," Tatti answered.

"Where's that?" Ari wanted to know.

"London," Tatti said.

"I don't want to waste a whole day going to London," Ari complained. "It's too far, and I won't have time to play ball."

"Actually, we can get to London in one minute," Tatti said with a smile. "Remember I mentioned floo?"

"What's that?" Ari asked.

"It's a magical way of traveling through fireplaces," Tatti explained.

"I don't want to get burned," Ari grumbled.

"You won't get burned," Tatti grinned. "It's magic."

Ari often wondered why his house had a fireplace when there's never a need for it. Tatti lit a fire and through in a powder that turned the fire green.

"We'll do it together since it's your first time," Tatti said. "Remember to say Diagon Alley very clearly."

Ari held his father's hand as they tumbled through the fireplace. He looked around in shock when he came out on foreign soil. The stores all sold products Ari never heard of before.

"First we need money," Tatti said, leading the way to the bank. There were very strange creatures that Ari never saw before instead of bankers. Tatti changed some pounds into unfamiliar coins.

"Robes next," Tatti said.

"I don't need robes," Ari muttered. "This school is crazy."

"The robes are your uniform," Tatti said firmly, "and you will wear your robes every day you're at school."

Ari fidgeted as he was fitted for robes. He glared at his hat.

"It will cover your yarmulke," Tatti whispered.

He thought the gloves were cool. The winter cloak was old fashioned, and he felt like he just bought a Purim costume.

"Maybe I should lend these out to my cousins for Purim," suggested Ari.

"You're cousins can't know that magic exists," Tatti reminded him. "Even Bubby and Zaidy don't know. They think we're sending you to a yeshiva with a dorm."

The books were easy to get. Tatti knew his way around the bookstore and found all the books. When he go to _Fatastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , he said, "The author of this book married an American Goldstein. That means we're distantly related to the author of this book."

After the books, they went for a wand. The creepy man in the store remembered Ari's father and found a wand for Ari easily. Ari didn't correct him when he called him Anthony. He figured he'll get used to the name eventually.

The rest of the supplies were pretty boring until Tatti stopped at a pet store.

"We're going to need an owl to send you your food every day," Tatti told him. "You're going to have to get used to feeding it and untying letters."

"Can't I just bring food with me?" Ari pouted.

"You won't have a refrigerator, oven, or microwave," Tatti reminded him.

"Can we buy one?" Ari asked.

"There's no electricity at Hogwarts," Tatti said.

"That's crazy!" Ari said. "How could they live without electricity?"  
"Magic," Tatti answered. "Most magical families don't have electricity at home. They use magic for everything."

"That's pathetic," Ari grumbled. "You really want me to be with these people?"

"I want you to learn what you need to know in order to continue the only Jewish magical line in Europe. Oma already explained why it's important."

Ari sighed. He knew he would never win this argument. He has to give up everything he knows in life just because he can do magic. It's not fair! Then again, the holocaust wasn't fair either. Neither was Shaul Hamelech's decision to kill all the witches. It wasn't fair that his family lived in isolation for so long. It wasn't fair that his American cousins knew nothing about their beautiful heritage. It wasn't fair that none of his friends could go with him to Hogwarts.

"Do they play muggle sports at Hogwarts?" Ari asked.

"They don't," Tatti told him, "but I'm sure you could find some muggleborns to play with during breaks."

"Can I bring my rugby ball?" Ari asked.

"Sure," Tatti said. "I could shrink it for you and teach you how to enlarge it."

"What about a baseball and mitt?"

"You could bring whatever you want," Tatti said. "You may even teach some magically raised children how to play your games. There are no classes on Sunday, so you have all day to play."

Maybe Hogwarts won't be so bad after all, Ari thought. I just need to find some muggleborns who know their sports.


	6. The Hogwarts Express

On September 1st, Ari woke up early and went to early shacharis. After a quick breakfast, he made sure his mother packed a lunch and supper he liked, and watched as his father put a spell on it to make his food stay fresh. Both parents floo'd to Diagon Alley with Ari and from there took a taxi to King's Cross. Ari's mother thought it was strange that the platform was 9 ¾. She was shocked that she could just walk through a wall. Ari was surprised too, but he didn't say anything. There were lots of noisy people on the platform. Ari didn't want to have anything to do with them. He found an empty compartment and sat down.

"See you on Friday," his parents called, waving to him. Ari waved back and pulled out his favorite book, The Rugby Yearbook. He sat, reading for a while when he heard someone come in to his compartment.

"You like rugby?" a black boy asked him.

"I love it!" Ari said eagerly. "Do you play?"

"I prefer soccer," the boy said. "I'm Dean Thomas by the way."

"Ari Goldstein," Ari said. "I play all sports really. My father shrunk my rugby ball, soccer ball, and basketball, and taught me how to enlarge them. I also brought my baseball and mitt."

"Your dad knows magic?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Ari replied. "He went to Hogwarts too. My mother is a muggle though, so I grew up in the muggle world."

"My mum's a muggle too," Dean said. "I never knew my father. Which soccer team do you go for?"

"Liverpool," Ari said.

"I go for the Hams," Dean told him.

"Maybe on Sundays we could get a game going," Ari suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Dean said. "Do you think we'll get enough people for a real game?"

"Probably not," Ari said, "but my cousin and I often play one on one. It's not the same of course. If we do manage to get four of us together, we do one goalie and one center per team. My friends generally play baseball, rugby, or basketball, so I only play soccer with my cousins or in camp."

"What about your cousins' friends?" Dean asked curiously.

"They're all girls," Ari pouted.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Dean teased.

"In my culture, boys and girls are generally segregated if they're not related," Ari said.

"That's strange," Dean said. "Is that a magical custom?"

"No, it's a Jewish custom," Ari explained.  
"I noticed your cap," Dean commented, "so I figured you were Jewish. Are there lots of Jewish magical families?"

"No," Ari said. "Most of them went to America, but there weren't that many to begin with. Were you surprised when you found out about Hogwarts?"

"Very," Dean said, "but it explained things that were happening to me."

The two of them talked about sports and magic for a long time, and only stopped when the trolley lady came in.

"Anything off the carts dears?" she asked.

"No thanks, I have my own food," Ari said.

"Do you have mars bars?" Dean asked.

"We only have magical foods," the lady said.

Dean cautiously picked out some of the safer looking foods. Ari excused himself to go to the bathroom and wash his hands. He made sure to bring a cup with him, knowing that people who see him would think he is strange. He walked back to his compartment quietly and took a small bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. They continued talking while they ate but were interrupted when a round faced boy came in.

"Have you seen my toad?" he asked tearfully.

"No," they both said.

"If it comes this way, we'll bring it to you," Dean offered.

"Thanks," the boy said.

"Do you play any sports?" Ari asked eagerly.

"My gram doesn't let," the boy muttered. "I have to find my toad."

He walked out of their compartment.

"Would you really touch a yucky slimy toad?" Ari asked.

"Why not?" Dean challenged him.

"I don't like animals," Ari confessed. "My father made me practice handling our owl this summer so that I could get packages from home."

"Owls deliver our mail?" Dean asked. "How does that work?"

"Owls are smart," Ari said. "You tell them who to bring it to, and they go."

They continued talking about the strange things in the wizard world. Ari told Dean what he knows about Hogwarts. While they were talking, a girl with bushy hair and big teeth came in.

"Did you see a toad?" she asked. "Neville lost his."

"We already told him we'll return it if we see it," Dean said.

The girl thanked them and left. Eventually, they both changed into their robes, making fun of how silly they look. They were both shocked at the giant who took them to the castle.


	7. The Sorting Hat

Professor McGonagall led them into the castle and gave them a speech about the houses. When she left, Dean whispered, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw," Ari answered.

"I hope we're together," Dean told him.

"If we're not, we can each try to get some housemates to join us for sports on Sunday," Ari said optimistically.

Dean screamed when he saw the ghosts.

"It's okay," Ari told him. "My father said they're all harmless except Professor Binns. He's our history teacher, and he's going to put us to sleep each class."

When Professor McGonagall told them to line up, Dean and Ari went to the back of the line. They both nervously walked to the great hall with the other first years. After the hat sang its song, Ari asked, "What do you think?"

"I'm not a Ravenclaw," Dean said. "I don't think I'm Slytherin either."

"Then we have a 25% chance of being in the same house," Ari said.

"Don't you mean 50?" asked Dean.

"No," Ari explained. "We each have a 50% chance of being in Hufflepuff. That means that there's a 25% chance of both of us being in Hufflepuff, a 25% chance of me being a Hufflepuff and you being a Gryffindor, a 25% chance of me being a Ravenclaw and you being a Hufflepuff, and a 25% chance of you being Gryffindor and me being Ravenclaw."

"You sound like a Ravenclaw with that explanation," Dean teased.

"I always liked math," Ari admitted.

Ari watched as two girls were sorted into Hufflepuff and realized he will have to interact with girls if he goes there. A boy and girl were sorted into Ravenclaw next. After that, a girl was sorted into Gryffindor, and another girl became the first Slytherin.

"Looks like I'm stuck with girls no matter what house I'm in," Ari thought nervously. He hoped he wasn't expected to interact with them too much. He didn't pay attention to the remainder of the sorting until he heard "Goldstein, Anthony."

"I thought your name is Ari," Dean said to him.

"Ari's a nickname," Ari said. "It's a long story, and I don't have time to explain now."

He walked over to the stool and listened as the hat spoke to him.

"You're hardworking like your father," the hat said, "and loyal to the Jewish people. You're not always loyal to your friends though, so I don't know if Hufflepuff is for you."  
"When wasn't I loyal to my friends?" Ari wondered.

"When your friends were mean to others, you always stood up for the people being bullied," the hat explained. "That's actually a Gryffindor trait, standing up for what you think is right and fighting other people's fights for them, however, I never saw a Gryffindor with as many fears as you have. It's pretty impressive; you're scared of owls, mice, dogs, cats, rats, toads, frogs- "

"Lions, tigers, and bears," Ari added. "Keep going, make me look chicken."

"You really are though," the hat said. "Although you do think fast. I see you're good at math. Your teacher thinks you're the best gemara student he ever taught; not that I know what gemara is, you scored highest on your school's vocabulary test, and you love science experiments. When you add that to your love of reading, you seem to make a good RAVENCLAW!"

Ari walked to the table that was cheering loudest. He saw that the first girl and boy sorted there were sitting across from each other. There was a second boy sitting next to the first, while two more boys were sitting next to the girl. He sat down next to the unfamiliar boy who was sitting next to one of the few names he remembered, Terry Boots.

Ari didn't pay much attention to the rest of the sorting until a girl sat down next to him. He was a bit surprised but didn't say anything. When there were only four kids left, Dean was finally called. Not surprisingly, he was sorted into Gryffindor. Ari clapped loudly for him.

When the sorting was finished, Dumbledore asked to say a few words, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"So what's the connection?" Ari asked curiously.

"Huh," the boy next to him asked.

"Nitwit is a foolish person," Ari explained. "Blubber is fat; oddment is leftovers, and tweak is to pull. Is he referencing the four houses, trying to insult someone, or just being silly?"

"Don't overthink it," an older student next to Terry said. "Just enjoy the food."

Ari watched everyone else pile their plates with food. He peeked into his dinner bag at his burger. He would need to wash if he wants to eat the bun.

"Where's the closest sink?" Ari asked the older student.

"Why do you need a sink?" the older boy asked.

"I need to wash my hands," Ari said shyly.

"I could clean them with a spell," came the kind offer.

"I need to wash them for religious reasons," Ari explained, realizing with embarrassment that most of his table was listening to him.

"How does that work?" the older boy asked. "I don't know much about religions, but as a Ravenclaw prefect, I feel that I should."

"You're a prefect?" Ari asked.

"Yes," the boy said. "There's always a boy and girl prefect from each house that are selected in their fifth year and continue being prefect in sixth and seventh year, so each house has six prefects. I'm Robert Hilliard by the way."

"Ari Goldstein," Ari responded.

"I thought you were called Anthony by the sorting," Robert commented.

"My legal name is Anthony," Ari explained. "But I have a Hebrew name also and I was always called Ari."

"So what does washing hands have to do with religion?" Robert asked.

"Jews always wash their hands before eating bread," Ari told him. "We wash with a cup, pouring water over each hand."

"You don't need a sink for that," Robert said.

"I need a cup of water and a place to pour it," Ari countered. "If I wash at the table, the table would get wet."

Robert pointed his wand in Ari's cup and said, "Aguamenti". The cup filled with water.

"Wash into Michael's cup," Robert said, gesturing to the unknown boy between Terry and Ari. "I'll vanish the water after you wash."

"Are you okay with that?" Ari asked Michael.

"Go ahead," Michael said. "I'm finding this very amusing. I never met a Jewish person before."

Ari washed, whispered the brachos, and took a bite of his burger.

"I never knew there were Jewish wizards," the boy across from Ari commented.

"Well, my father graduated many years ago," Ari said with a grin. "He's thirty-four, so unless you were left back many times, you wouldn't know him. All the other Jewish wizards live in America."

"How can you be sure of that?" Terry asked.

"Back when the Jews went to Israel from Egypt, the first king they had was a man named Saul." Ari explained. "He killed all the Jewish witches except one. That one made sure to document all her descendants until she died, when her oldest child took over. Until 1850, all the Jewish witches and wizards lived together. In 1850, they started slowly immigrating to America, until 1938 when my family was the only one left. I know that everyone left, because my grandmother told me the history."

"Does everyone know their family's magical history?" a nervous looking boy asked. "I'm the only magical one in my family. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," Ari said. "I was actually hoping to get enough people familiar with sports together on Sundays for games. I prefer rugby, but Dean Thomas in Gryffindor prefers soccer. What's your favorite sport?"

"I'm not that good, but I like baseball," the boy shyly said.

"Perfect," Ari said. "I brought my ball and glove, hoping I'll have someone to play with. What's your name?"

"Kevin," the boy said. "What position do you play?"

"Pitcher," Ari answered. "What about you?"

"Catcher," Kevin said, "or outfield."

"I need a catcher while I'm here," Ari told him. "I have to stay in shape for the summer when I'm with my muggle friends."

Ari watched as the food disappeared and was replaced with desserts. He pulled out a donut from his bag and started eating it.

"Do you always eat your own food?" Michael asked.

"I keep kosher," Ari told him. "My parents are going to send me kosher food every morning."

"Too bad," Terry said. "Hogwarts has great food."

"I'll have enough to eat," Ari said. "I wonder which teachers from my father's days are still here," he added, changing the subject to a more comfortable one.

"Most of the teachers were here a long time," Robert said. "Did your father mention any names?"

"He told me that he had a new defense teacher every year," Ari began.

"That's still true," Robert said. "They say the position is cursed."

"Does Professor Flitwick still teach Charms?" Ari asked.

"Yes, and he's also head of our house," Robert told him. "Did your father also have McGonagall and Sprout?"

"Yes, Sprout started his first year," Ari said. "And he had Slughorn for Potions."

"Slughorn is long gone," Robert said. "Did he mention any other teachers?"

"Yes, but I'm hoping Binns doesn't still teach history," Ari said.

"He does," Robert told him, "But as long as you read the book, you'll know the material, so it doesn't matter who is teaching it."

Dumbledore stood up and made several final announcements including a warning about the third floor corridor. Ari cringed when everyone sang the school song. He noticed two redheads at the Gryffindor table singing to a funeral march and wondered if they considered school to be their funeral. Finally, Robert led them to the Ravenclaw tower and explained that they have to answer a riddle to get into the common room. Since it was their first day, he answered for them before showing them the dorms. Ari quietly davened maariv before going to sleep. He couldn't help wishing he was home and still attending yeshiva. Going to school with non-Jews was a lot harder than he thought, or at least the first day was.


	8. Home again for Shabbos

The first week of Hogwarts went by fast. Ari woke up early every day to daven in the common room. The first time people walked in on him, they looked at him like he was strange and then decided he's doing one of his Jewish things. It didn't take long before everyone accepted that Ari had his food delivered by owl every day, washed into someone else's cup whenever his meals included bread, and davened in a quiet corner of the common room. Robert showed him how to do the aguamenti charm but said that vanishing spells are too advanced. In Potions class, Ari discovered a muggleborn Hufflepuff his year and told him to spread the word about muggle sports on Sunday.

Ari happily said good-bye to his roommates on Friday afternoon before going home for Shabbos. His parents greeted him quickly and told him to hurry and get ready since he only had a half hour. It wasn't until the Shabbos meal that the subject of Hogwarts came up.

"So, how many of my old teachers are still there?" Tatti asked curiously.

"Most of them," Ari said, swallowing some challa. "McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Binns. Sinistra teaches Astronomy, Quirrell teaches Defense, and Snape teaches Potions."

"Is your defense teacher any good?" Oma asked.

"Not at all," Ari complained. "He stutters badly, his room stinks like garlic, and he wears a smelly turban. He should be gone within a year though, so hopefully next year, we'll have a better teacher."

"You said that Snape teaches potions?" Ari's father asked.

"Yes," Ari said. "He's very sarcastic and criticizes everything."

"There was a Snape two years younger than me in Slytherin," Tatti said. "I wonder if it's the same person."

"He has black greasy hair and is head of Slytherin," Ari offered.

"Sounds like it might me the same," Tatti said. "I didn't really know students from other houses or other years, but everyone knew Snape and it wasn't for a good reason."

"Was he a troublemaker?" Ari asked curiously.

"Not at all," Tatti told him. "There were four Gryffindor bullies in his year."

"I thought Gryffindors defend people from bullies," Ari argued.

"Every middah could be used for good or bad," Tatti said. "If you use your Gryffindor bravery for good, you defend others who need it. If you use it for bad, you may end up bullying innocent people. That's what happened to the Gryffindors in that year. They went out of their way to bully Snape and embarrass him in front of the whole school. They used to hex him, and since it was four against one, Snape didn't usually succeed in defending himself. Many people thought it was funny to watch, but I always felt sorry for him."

"Why didn't you stand up for him?" Ari asked accusingly. "How could you just stand there when someone is being bullied?"

"I didn't want to be bullied next," Tatti said shamefacedly. "I didn't want to find myself dangling upside down in front of the entire school with my underwear showing."

"So nobody ever defended him?" Ari asked.

"There was a Gryffindor girl who used to defend him," Tatti said. "She had bright red hair and was always yelling at the bullies."

"Didn't any of the teachers do anything?" Ari asked.

"When the boys were caught, they were punished," Tatti said. "But they weren't always caught. Usually bullies wait for no teachers to be around before doing the bullying."

"I know Snape turned out okay," Ari said, "since he's a professor now. What happened to the bullies?"

"Two of them are dead," Tatti started. "One of them is in jail, and I haven't heard anything else about the last one."

They deserve it," Ari said. "There's no excuse for bullying people like that. What happened to the girl who used to defend Snape?"

"She died too," Tatti said.

"How did she die?" Ari asked.

"A dark wizard killed her," Tatti said. "During the war that ended when you were two."

"How come nobody uses his name?" Ari wanted to know. "Harry Potter is in my year and everyone always talks about how he defeated you know who. You always refer to him as a dark wizard or a rasha. Nobody uses his name."

"People are scared to," Tatti said, "but do you know how the girl who defended Snape died? She was probably defending Harry Potter."

"Why did he try to kill Potter in the first place?" Ari asked.

"Potters parents were part of the group who fought him," Tatti said. "He showed up at the house ready to kill the whole family. He killed both parents but couldn't kill little Harry."

"Why would the redhead girl be there at the time?" Ari asked.

"She's Harry's mother," Tatti answered. "I was actually surprised when I read about it in the news."

"Why is that surprising?" Ari wanted to know.

"Because it means she married one of the Gryffindor bullies of her year," Tatti said with a smile. "I don't understand how that happened, but I guess with the war going on, people on the same side put aside their previous differences."

"Were you involved in the war?" Ari asked.

"I stayed out of it," Tatti said. "I live in a muggle area and as long as we're not being attacked, I stay out of the magical world and all its politics. I did put some protective spells over the community, but that was all I did."

"So you're like our American relatives," Ari criticized.

"I'm not," Tatti said. "When Oma and Opa were fighting, it's because the Jewish people were being targeted for extermination. This time, nobody was targeting Jews. No entire nation was being threatened to be exterminated. It was more important to stay alive myself than to join the people protecting others and end the only Jewish magical line still in Europe."

"Did Snape fight?" Ari asked.

"I don't know," Tatti said. "I didn't know him well at all. I only knew of him because he was constantly being bullied in front of everyone and I felt sorry for him. I didn't keep up with anyone in Hogwarts after graduation."

"I don't think I will either," Ari said. "People in my house ask me questions sometimes about some of the things I do, but overall, they're nice to me. We're planning on doing muggle sports on Sunday. I got one muggleborn Gryffindor and one Hufflepuff to try to get over whoever they can from their house, and I'll try from Ravenclaw."

"So you're not wasting your efforts on Slytherin," observed Tatti.

"I noticed two Slytherins during Herbology who look like they would be good rugby players," Ari offered. "But a boy who was with them said that they don't do things with my kind."

"That's rude!" Mommy exclaimed. "I hope you had a good comeback."

"I said that it's their loss and walked away," Ari said sheepishly. "I didn't want to deal with their kind any more than they wanted to deal with me."

"You shouldn't be making friends with all these goyim," Oma admonished.

"I need to survive these seven years," Ari countered. "I can't do it without some friends."

"I hope none of your friends are German," Oma said.

"I don't think they are," Ari reassured her. "The boys in my house are Boot, Corner, Cornfoot, and Entwhistle. None of them sound like German names. The Gryffindor is black so he can't be German, and the Hufflepuff's last name is Finch-Fletchley. I'm pretty sure none of them are German."

"Just be careful," Oma warned. "And stay away from bullies. If none of the professors protected that poor boy from the bullying, they won't do anything for you either. Keep your head down and stay out of trouble."

"I'll see," Ari said. "As of now, there is no trouble, and I don't know any spells to stop bullying anyway, so you have nothing to worry about."

Ari thought about sarcastic Professor Snape and wondered how different he would be if more people stood up for him. He felt grateful that he wasn't bullied and wondered how long it would be before bullying started again in Hogwarts.


	9. Soccer Sunday

On Sunday morning, after retrieving his breakfast from his owl, Ari used the owl to send notes to Justin and Dean, asking them to meet him after breakfast with whichever friends they could convince to play muggle sports. It was an interesting group that showed up; all five Ravenclaw boys were there, although Stephen was dragged there very reluctantly, Justin brought Ernie, a fellow Hufflepuff, and Dean brought Seamus.

"So, there are nine of us," Ari said, taking a quick inventory. "That means a team of five and a team of four."

"I don't have to play," Stephen said. "I'm only here because there's nobody else to hang out with if you're all here, but I could join the girls instead."

"Aren't Ravenclaws supposed to want to learn?" Ari challenged. "You should want to learn about muggle sports. Think of it as getting a head start for Muggle Studies in third year."

"I doubt they talk about sports," Ernie said. "I think the class is more about how muggles manage without magic."

"It should be about sports," Ari said. "Sports are an important part of life. If there was a wizarding class for muggles, don't you think they would mention quiddich?"

"Definitely," Michael said. "Quiddich is an important part of our culture, but the only reason I'm here is because I know you won't shut up about how much fun I missed, and I prefer to experience it then to hear about it."

"One of my roommates is giving me a hard time about my soccer posters," Dean admits.

"That's his loss," Ari said. "He won't ever learn to have fun if he never tries."

"Why do you call it soccer?" Justin asked. "It's called football. Only Americans call it soccer."

"It goes by both names," Ari said. "The British stopped using the term soccer in the 1980s to differentiate themselves from Americans, but it still goes by both names."

"Besides," Dean said, "If I say football, some Americans would picture a different game."

"There aren't any Americans here," Terry scorned. "They go to school in America."

"Are there really magical schools all over the world?" Dean asked.

"Of course," Ernie said. "Britain's not the only country with magic."

"So should we start with soccer?" Ari asked, looking meaningfully at Dean.

"No, we should start with football," Justin argued.

"Whatever," Dean said. "Let's play."

"Ravenclaws against Hufflepuff and Gryffindor?" Ari suggested.

They all agreed and both teams selected goalies while the muggle raised tried to explain the rules of the game to their friends. Ari removed some cones from his sports bag to set up goals.

Ari got the ball first and kicked it very hard at the goal. Ernie, who was playing goalie, actually ducked out of the way when he saw the force of the kick, allowing Ari to score an easy goal.

"I can't play against you," Ernie complained. "You're going to kill me."

"You'll get used to it," Ari said. "I'll try to aim away from you and get easier goals."

Dean had a hurried conversation with Ernie and the game continued. Ernie threw the ball back in, and once again, Ari managed to get a foot on it. Another hard kick earned him another easy goal.

"I have to stay on you," Dean said. "The rest of my team is scared of you."

"Too bad," Ari said. "I guess they would prefer rugby."

Ernie threw the ball back in and Michael caught it.

"Drop it!" Ari called frantically. "No hands!"

"Free kick," Dean said, eagerly taking his shot and scoring for his team. He made sure to cover Ari when Kevin threw the ball back, leaving Michael to try to get it without using his hands. Michael managed to get a foot on the ball, when Dean ran over and kicked it to the goal again, tying the score. Kevin threw the ball back, and Terry got it this time.

"Help, what should I do?" he called frantically, trying to keep his foot on the ball so Dean can't steal it.

"Kick it toward the goal," Ari reminded him.

Terry managed a weak little kick before Ari and Dean battled over the ball. After a few more minutes, it was obvious that most of the players still didn't know what was going on so they decided to stop and try something else.

"What now?" asked Justin.

"How about baseball?" Kevin suggested.

"Whatever for?" asked Dean.

"I like it," Kevin said.

"Me too," Ari added. "I play all sports during the summer, including baseball."

"I want to explore the third floor corridor," Seamus said. "Is anyone else interested?"

"Interested in dying a painful death?" Ari said. "You gotta be kidding me. I'm planning on living a lot longer than eleven years."

"What do you think they have there?" Dean asked.

"Probably some dangerous creature wandered into the forbidden forest," Michael suggested, "and the school is keeping it locked there until they find a safe way to remove it."

"I thought it sounded more like a dare," Seamus said. "Dumbledore was challenging us to try to find what is in that corridor. Why else would he mention it at the welcome feast?"

"So nobody would end up there by mistake and die!" Justin exclaimed. "You can't keep dangerous creatures around and not warn people! Why do you think so many houses have signs 'Beware of Dog'?"

"I never saw such a sign," Ernie said.

"Me neither," said Stephen. "It must be a muggle thing."

"So, should we check it out?" Seamus asked.

"No!" Ari, Justin, Kevin and Stephen all said the same time.

"Chickens," Seamus taunted. "You coming with me, Dean?"

"Please don't," Ari begged. "If you do, I'll have nobody to play soccer with again."

"That's what's important?" Ernie scorned.

"How about we teach them to play rugby?" Ari suggested, trying to get away from the topic of the corridor.

"If they're scared of your soccer kicks, there's no way anybody could take you for rugby," Justin told him.

"Baseball," Ari suggested.

"I'm in," Kevin said eagerly.

"I'm not," Justin said. "I never played it in my life."

"First time for everything," Ari said cheerfully.

"Why?" challenged Justin. "So you could swing a bat at us instead of kicking a ball at us?"

"I'm not that scary," Ari said. "Most of my friends are better than me. I just like sports. How about basketball?"

"Do you have a hoop?" asked Dean.

"Maybe we could use a quiddich hoop," Ari thought aloud.

"How do you play basketball?" Seamus asked.

"You throw the ball in the basket," Ari said simply.

"While standing on the ground?" asked Seamus.

"Unless you can jump high," Ari told him.

"In quiddich, we use brooms," Michael said.

"We start flying lessons this week," Seamus said eagerly. "Maybe we could start using the quiddich pitch."

"The house teams will want it for practice," Ernie said. "While I like the idea of having an interhouse activity, I don't think sports will work for most of us."

"I don't care about interhouse," Ari said. "I care about the sports part."

"I noticed," Stephen said, "But the rest of us don't."

"Speak for yourself!" Dean said angrily. "I'll play soccer any time Ari's available."

"Fine," Stephen said. "You and Anthony go play soccer together. I'm going back to the dorm."

"I don't really understand muggle sports," Michael said apologetically. "I only grew up knowing about quiddich."

"We could still hang out together sometimes," Ernie said. "We just can't compete with you in sports."

"I guess I'll play soccer with Dean every Sunday morning," Ari said, "and catch using a baseball with Kevin every Sunday afternoon. Justin, do you play rugby?"

"Not at your level," Justin said. "Like you, I plan to live more than eleven years."

"Fine," Ari said with a grin. "Contact me on your twelfth birthday and we'll play a game."

"I could think of other things I would prefer as birthday presents," Justin replied. "But I'll keep it in mind."

As the group dispersed, Ari wondered how his classmates survived eleven years without sports.


	10. Chapter 10

The first two months of school passed quickly for Ari. It helped that he went home so often. Besides going home for Shabbos, he missed class for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkos as except for Yom Kippur, which came out on a Wendesay, all the fall yamim tovim came out on Monday and Tuesday. Ari's parents were a little concerned about missed class work, but Ari wasn't. Herbology was easy; Ari always loved gardening. Potions wasn't that different from the science experiments he always did in primary school, although he discovered the hard way that Professor Snape doesn't like when things explode. It didn't really matter if Ari was in class for history and defense, since he never paid attention anyways. Transfigurations usually took Ari a few tries, but he was always able to master it eventually, so the missed classes didn't make much of a difference, and in Charms, they were still doing theory.

On the last day of October, Ari woke up to an unfamiliar smell. Something sweet was baking, but he didn't know what. At breakfast, everyone was talking about the Halloween feast. Ari realized he will be eating in his common room tonight.

In Charms, they finally got to try the levitating charm. Ari was excited, but it took him a few tries before he got it down pat.

When it was time for dinner, Ari stayed in the common room.

"Aren't you coming, Anthony?" Michael called.

"I'll eat here tonight," Ari said. "I don't celebrate Halloween."

"Come anyway," Terry said. "There's good food."

"If that's the only reason for going to meals," Ari retorted, "I would eat here every night."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Michael offered.

"Not at all," Ari said. "Go enjoy the feast. I have some books to read."

"Anything good?" Stephen asked.

Ari held up his newest rugby book.

"I guess not," Stephen said with a smirk. He ran off before Ari could answer, followed by Michael, Terry, and Kevin.

Ari had just finished his potato knish when the whole house returned together.

"You missed it!" Terry said excitingly. "There's a troll in the castle!"

"I'm glad I missed it," Ari said.

"We didn't see it either," Michael said, "But Quirrell told everyone and then he fainted."

"Hopefully, we'll have a more competent teacher next year," Ari said.

He went back to his book as everyone finished the feast in the common room.

As the weather got colder, all anybody would talk about is quidditch. Ari's class has mastered flying around the pitch, and people were always talking about how Harry Potter is the youngest seeker in the century. Ari was surprised that everyone was rooting for Gryffindor in the Gryffindor-Slytherin match until one of the older players explained that Slytherin always wins and they play rough with lots of fouls.

"That should make the strategy easier," Ari said.

"Why is that?" asked Roger Davies, a third year chaser.

"If you know they will purposely block you, pretend they crashed into you," Ari told him. "Chances are the ref will believe you since they have a reputation. If a player gets too close, aim your broom towards his hand and pretend he grabbed your broom. If any player has his elbows out, pretend to crash into their elbow. Use their fouls to your advantage."

"I thought Jews value honesty," Terry retorted.

"We do," Ari said. "I'm probably not the best example of Jewish honesty, since I was taught to lie about magic when I was four-years-old. If you're raised with secrecy and lies, it becomes second nature."

"I prefer to win honestly," Roger said.

"Good for you," Ari said. "I also prefer winning honestly to winning dishonestly. If it's a choice between winning dishonestly and losing honestly, I would probably have a hard time doing the right thing."

The Shabbos of the first quidditch match, Ari commented that he's missing a quidditch game. His father wasn't very sympathetic.

"The quidditch games are usually on Shabbos," Tatti said. "That's just how it is. It's not like you're on the team anyway."

"It's Gryffindor against Slytherin," Ari said, "so either way my house isn't involved."

"Are you upset about missing quidditch?' Mommy asked.

"Not really," Ari said. "I'm sure I'll hear every sorry detail tonight. Besides, I still play with Dean and Kevin every Sunday. Sometimes Justin and Ernie come to watch."

While Ari did expect to hear about the game, what he did not expect to hear was that Potter's broom tried to throw him off and he caught the snitch in his mouth.

Ari continued to miss quidditch matches, but he didn't really care. Before he knew it, it was time for the winter holidays. Ari wasn't used to being home from school for two weeks in December, but he didn't mind the break. His mother made sure he followed a yeshiva schedule for every day he was off. He went to shacharis every day, learned gemara , chumash and mishnayos, and was madre seder. In the afternoon, his mother played math games with him, had him read for an hour and a half, and watched him do science experiments.

Ari was disappointed that with the cold and snow, not much was happening with sports amongst his friends. He did manage to get in two rugby games, but most days it was too windy, and the ball would blow away. Ari was surprised that at the end of the holiday, he didn't really mind going back to school.


	11. Chapter 11

Ari was getting annoyed with the constant rain.

"How can we play football with all this rain?" Ari complained to Dean. "What's the point of having no classes on Sunday if we can't even get a game in?"

"We still never explored the third floor corridor," Seamus said.

"That's good," Ari told him. "I'm still not ready to die."

"Come on," Seamus said, "Aren't you curious?"

"Not at all," Ari answered. "I readily bought Michael's explanation and have no more questions."

Having nothing better to do, Ari went back to his common room to do some homework. Michael and Terry taught him how to play exploding snap and wizard's chess, so Ari wasn't bored, but he still missed his sports.

Most Ravenclaws were busy preparing for exams, even though they were still a few months away. Ari never worried about these things. His mother always made him study when she knew about a test, but there were enough times he didn't tell her and still did well. He made sure not to mention tests when he came home for Purim and Pesach.

Purim was always Ari's favorite day of the year, and this year was no different. He still saw all his muggle friends and exchanged shalach manos with them. He ate lots of nosh and wore his uniform as a costume.

Pesach was also fun, but in a different way. Ari didn't learn any divrei torah on the hagaddah this year, so he used last year's material. The only problem was that Ari's mother remembered every single dvar torah and kept interrupting. Ari decided that next year, he will have to somehow prepare new material.

One day after Pesach, everyone was commenting about how Gryffindor lost 150 points, putting Slytherin in the lead. Ari didn't get what the big deal is.

"Does it really matter who wins the house cup?" he challenged his fellow Ravenclaws. "Is someone giving 1000 galleons to every member of the winning house? We get nothing for it. Who cares?"

Nobody accepted his argument.

"Slytherin always wins," complained one of the older students. "I thought Gryffindor would finally beat them. It's good for them to lose sometimes."

"If we're not winning anyway, there's really no reason to care about it," Ari reasoned. "If you want to win this year, this is your chance. Only Slytherin is ahead of us."

"Do you always have to be so logical?" Terry complained. "If we want to be angry at the Gryffindors, let us be angry. Why interfere?"

"It makes no sense," Ari told him. "If you care about who gets the house cup, you should try to beat Slytherin. If you don't want to win, you shouldn't care who wins."

"So if the West Hams beat Liverpool, you wouldn't care either, right?" challenged Kevin, "since it doesn't concern you. You're not on either team."

"Of course I am," Ari said. "I'm the armchair coach of Liverpool. Of course it would concern me if they lose."

"Do you always have an answer for everything?" Kevin complained.

"Usually," Ari said.

"But since you don't really play on Liverpool," Michael tried, "why would you care if they lose?"

"They're my team!" Ari said. "Of course I would care. Just like you care about Ravenclaw."

"Aha!" Michael exclaimed. "But you are not a member of Liverpool."

"Prove it," Ari challenged.

"How old do you have to be to play on a professional team?" asked Michael.

"Can you prove my age?" Ari retorted.

"You're here, aren't you?" Michael said. "If you would be old enough to play, you wouldn't be a first year."

"Okay," Ari agreed, "But you're not a Gryffindor, you're a Ravenclaw. Why do you care if Gryffindor falls behind?"

"If Manchester would be playing the West Hams, who would you want to win?" Kevin asked.

"The West Hams, of course," Ari answered easily.

"Why?" Kevin asked. "You're a Liverpool fan not West Ham."

"Manchester is a bigger threat to Liverpool than West Ham is," Ari explained.

"Exactly," Terry crowed. "Slytherin is a bigger threat to us than Gryffindor is. Thank you Kevin for explaining it in the only language Anthony understands."

"It's still not the same thing," Ari tried again, not willing to admit defeat. "Football players get paid to win. All the winners get here is a cup that stays in the office."

"You're so cynical," Terry complained.

The Ravenclaw quidditch team was busy practicing for their final match, and everyone else was busy studying for exams. The older students were warning the younger ones about the anti-cheating quills. Once exams started, Ari wished that the school was air conditioned. He still didn't understand how wizards lived without electricity. Ari wrote whatever he remembered on the written exams, hoping it would be enough. It usually was in the past; he didn't see why here it should be different. As Ari already practiced having a pineapple tap dance, he did the Charms practical easily. Transfiguration was a little harder, but that was only because they were using a mouse. Once Ari managed to forget it was a mouse and focus on the snuffbox, it was easier, but animals still scared him. The Potions practical was easy. Ari spent so much time over the years doing science experiments that exploded, that making a potion was simple stuff. He only regretted that he couldn't add vinegar or baking soda to watch it explode.

Finally, it was over. There were no more tests; just one more quidditch game and the good-bye feast. Ari didn't know why he had to come back after going home for Shabbos, but he learned not to question the rules. When the quidditch team heard that Harry was in the hospital wing, they were all excited. They finally had a chance to win a quidditch match! There were lots of rumors about what happened. Ari didn't really follow all of them.

Ari sat at the Ravenclaw table for the last dinner of the year. Everyone was complaining that Slytherin won again. Ari still didn't see why that was a big deal. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling sorry for the Slytherins when Dumbledore awarded Gryffindor all the last minute points that put them in first place. The rest of his table cheered enthusiastically for Gryffindor. Ari figured it was like scoring a goal right before the timer buzzed.

The train ride home was uneventful. Ari whined that he lives closer to school than to London, and it's a shame to make him travel all the way to London just to travel back, but others were in the same situation and said it's the norm. When the train finally pulled into the station, Ari quickly grabbed his things and ran to his father who apparated him home. Ari couldn't help feeling pleased that he survived his first year of Hogwarts.


	12. Bar Mitzvah Lessons

"We really need to start your bar mitzvah lessons," Tatti told Ari the morning after he came home.

"I don't need to lain," Ari said. "I could just do the haftorah."

"Zaidy will expect you to lain," Tatti said.

"Didn't Zaidy teach you to lain when you were seven?" Mommy asked. "You should have an easy time with it."

"I know how to lain," Ari said. "I could lain from a chumash easily, but I don't want to stand in front of the whole shul with everyone looking at me."

"I looked into Bar Mitzvah teachers," Tatti said. "Most people like Rabbi Gordon."

"I don't care," Ari said.

"Okay," Tatti said, "I'll see when he could start with you."

"I don't really need it," Ari argued again.

"Let's try one lesson and see what he says," Tatti compromised.

Rabbi Gordon greeted Ari cheerfully that night.

"So your mother's father is a baal koreh who taught you when you were seven?" Rabbi Gordon asked.

"It's a three hour drive from Glasgow to Liverpool," Ari explained. "We only visit my grandparents for a few weeks in the summer, Shabbos Chanukah, or a simcha, but my grandfather makes sure all his grandsons know how to read the trop."

"Let's see how you do," Rabbi Gordon challenged.

Ari lained his parsha perfectly from the chumash.

"Now try from the trop," Rabbi Gordon told him.

He lained until sheini without a problem, but then started peeking back at the chumash every two seconds.

"You need to practice," Rabbi Gordon said. "I heard good things about you. I heard you go to a top yeshiva out of Glasgow, although none of your friends remember the name of your yeshiva, and that you were always the best learner."

"Laining is easy," Ari said, "I just never memorized the trop."

"Let's do it now," Rabbi Gordon said.

By the end of the session, Ari was able to do until shlishi perfectly.

"You'll have it perfectly by the end of the summer," Rabbi Gordon said. "You just need to remember to practice."

"It's a good thing your bar mitzvah comes out during the holiday," Tatti said after Rabbi Gordon left.

"It makes sense," Ari told him. "The week after Chanukah is always sometime in December or the beginning of January, so there's always a good chance of being home on my birthday."

"Last year it wasn't," Tatti reminded him.

"That's because Chanukah came out early," Ari said, "besides, this is the year that matters."

Ari soon settled into a routine at home. He practiced his bar mitzvah parsha every day after shacharis, spent some time learning, and went to the park to play ball with his friends. He mastered his parsha quickly, and looked forward to visiting Bubby and Zaidy towards the end of the summer.

Ari was surprised to get letters from his Hogwarts friends. Michael and Terry wrote often, filling him in on every boring aspect of their lives. Dean wrote about football of course. He drew a picture of the West Hams celebrating a win over Liverpool. Ari wrote back that his picture is fiction since it will never happen. Ari reminded his friends not to write during the last few weeks of the summer as he will be visiting his muggle grandparents in Liverpool, and only Dean is familiar with the muggle post.

Ari made sure to pack his Liverpool shirts for the holiday, so nobody will doubt what team he supports. He also packed his rugby shirts and a baseball jersey. He enjoyed playing football with his cousins, and of course Zaidy had to listen to him lain and learn gemara with him. Ari found it difficult not to talk about school, but he knew his muggle relatives couldn't know the truth.

Ari was happy that he got his letter from school before going to Bubby's house. He didn't know how he would explain an owl in the kitchen to his grandmother.

One day towards the end of the summer, Tatti announced that it's time to do back to school shopping.

"Do you want me to come?" Bubby asked.

"You don't want to go anywhere near the two of them when they shop," Mommy warned. "They take hours analyzing every notebook, folder, piece of paper, pen and pencil. They compare prices, buy things from one store and return them when they find it cheaper in another store, and take what could be a simple shopping trip and turn it into an all day nightmare."

"I'm not that bad anymore," Tatti said.

"Yes you are," Mommy and Ari said together.

"How many times do you go to three supermarkets when you could get everything in one?" Mommy challenged.

"Different things are cheaper in different supermarkets," Tatti explained.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Mommy said. "Time is worth more than money."

"If I could save money by spending more time, why is that a problem?" Tatti wanted to know.

"As long as it's not my time you're wasting, go ahead," mommy said.

"I'm telling you, you don't want to go with him," Mommy told Bubby. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up all the way in London trying to get the best bargains."

"That's a great idea!" Ari laughed. "Let's go to London!"

"How about we play scrabble while they're gone?" Mommy suggested.

Bubby took out her scrabble set, and Ari and Tatti left quietly. They drove a few blocks to a shopping center and parked the car.

"How will we get there?" Ari asked. "There's no floo from Bubby's house."

"I can apparate you again," Tatti offered.

"Yuck!" Ari said.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Tatti asked him.

"Can we fly?" Ari asked.

"Takes too long," Tatti told him. "You'll get used to apparition over time."

They found an empty alleyway and apprarated to Diagon Alley. Second year shopping was much faster than first year. Ari only needed books and some new quills.

"Mommy said we'll be gone all day," Tatti reminded Ari. "Do you want to go out to eat?"

Ari agreed, so Tatti apparated him to an alley behind a kosher restaurant.

"Where are we?" Ari asked curiously.

"Burger Bar," Tatti said. "They have the best burgers in London."

"How am I supposed to eat with my stomach still in Diagon Alley?" Ari asked.

"Give yourself a few minutes to settle down," Tatti said. "You'll be fine."

Ari and Tatti took their time eating before apparating back to the alley near the car. They drove back to Bubby's house, leaving the bag of books in the car.


	13. A Hogwarts Bar Mitzvah?

The Goldsteins went home before school started so that Ari could go back to London in order to get back to Scotland without Bubby or Zaidy knowing. Ari complained bitterly about having to spend an entire day on the train again, but Tatti insisted it's a tradition and everyone goes on the train, even kids who live in Hogsmeade.

Tatti apparated Ari directly to the platform. Ari found an empty compartment, said good-bye to his father, and practiced his laining. He was surprised when he heard familiar voices standing right over here.

"Well, look who's here," Michael said. "What's that you're reading?"

"I'm practicing for my bar mitzvah," Ari said, kissing his chumash and putting it away.

"And you didn't even invite us!" Terry exclaimed. "How could you not invite us?"

"You wouldn't fit in," Ari tried to explain. "My friends are all Jewish muggles."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Michael asked.

"Most of my friends are Jewish muggles," Ari tried again. "As you are not Jewish and are not muggle, you would not fit in with the crowd at my bar mitzvah."

Terry stuck his head out the door and looked around.

"Hey," he called. "Stephen, Kevin, over here! Anthony is planning a bar mitzvah without us!"

Stephen and Kevin came to their compartment, followed by Justin, Ernie, Dean, and Seamus.

"So, why aren't we invited?" Justin asked.

"All the guests will be Jewish muggles," Ari said, "And as you're not Jewish and not a muggle, you wouldn't fit in."

"My parents have been to many bar mitzvahs before," Justin said. "It's not that hard to fit in."

"Really?" Ari asked. "So what would you wear to a bar mitzvah?"

"A suit and tie," Justin said.

"What else?" Ari asked.

Justin thought for a minute and said, "I guess your crowd isn't the type that hands out yarmulkes at the door."

"Definitely not," Ari said. "It's expected that everyone wears a yarmulke all the time, so there's no reason to give them out."

"It's not that hard to buy a yarmulke," Justin said.

"For you it might not be," Ari told him, "but some people here never went into a muggle store in their life. They know nothing about muggle currency and probably never saw a yarmulke or a Jew before they met me."

"True enough," Terry agreed, "but we can all borrow yarmulkes from you and come."

"What would you do there?" Ari challenged.

"What does everyone else do?" Michael asked.

"Eat, listen to boring speeches, dance, eat, and listen to more boring speeches, and eat again," Ari answered.

"Do we need to bring someone to dance with?" Michael asked.

"Huh?" Ari didn't know what he was talking about.

"For dancing," Seamus clarified. "Do we need a date?"

"Definitely not!" Ari said, horrified at the idea. "There is a partition in the middle of the room separating men from women. Men dance on one side and women dance on the other."

"What kind of dancing?" asked Dean.

"Jewish dancing," Ari said vaguely. "Dancing in a circle."

"It sounds different," Stephen said, trying to be polite.

"It is different!" Ari told him. "That's why I said none of you would fit in."

"If I wear a suit, tie, and yarmulke, why won't I fit in?" Justin asked.

"What color suit?" Ari asked him.

"I have a gray one," Justin said.

"You won't fit in because nobody else will be wearing gray," Ari said. "Most boys get black suits for bar mitzvahs."

"Fine," Justin said, "I'll wear a black suit."

"What's my name?" Ari asked him.

"Anthony," Justin said.

"Wrong," Ari said, "And nobody who calls me Anthony could come to my bar mitzvah."

"But that's your legal name," Ernie protested.

"Exactly," Ari said. "It's only my legal name. Jews are called by their Hebrew names, and since Dean is the only one here who calls me Ari, the rest of you wouldn't fit in."

"So if we start calling you Ari, we can come?" Michael asked.

"Do you have a black suit and yarmulke?" Ari asked him.

"I'm sure I could get one," Michael said. "I have muggle grandparents who could take me shopping, and my father grew up in the muggle world."

"Same with me," Seamus said. "I get the best of both worlds being half and half. In fact, I'm even better. Me dad's a muggle."

"I also have muggle grandparents," Terry said. "And Kevin, Justin, and Dean know their way around the muggle world just fine, so it's only Stephen and Ernie who have a problem."

"I don't have a problem," Stephen huffed. "I never said I want to go to your crummy bar mitzvah anyway."

"That's good," Ari said, "Because I never intended to invite anyone here."

"If we get suits and yarmulkes and call you Ari, why can't we come?" Michael asked.

"What would you tell someone if they ask you your name?" Ari challenged.

"Of course we don't have Jewish names," Michael said. "We're not Jewish."

"And where would I know not Jewish people from?" Ari continued.

"School?" Terry stated the obvious.

"And why am I in a not Jewish school?" asked Ari.

"Because you're a wizard," Kevin said, connecting the pieces. "Your friends all think you're in a Jewish school, and can't know you have not Jewish friends."

"Exactly," Ari said. "I would love to have all of you, but it won't work."

"When is your bar mitzvah?" Michael asked.

"The end of December," Ari told him. "During the holidays."

"We'll have to make you a party before you leave," Michael said.

"I keep kosher," Ari reminded him.

"You don't have to eat," Terry told him. "You'll get to eat at your kosher bar mitzvah. This is so we can eat."

"So then you could have one without me," Ari said. "Why do you need me there to have a bar mitzvah?"

"Because you're the bar mitzvah boy," Terry stated the obvious. "Why else would we have a bar mitzvah party?"

Luckily, the trolley witch came around, breaking up the conversation. The bar mitzvah wasn't mentioned again and Ari hoped all his friends would forget this conversation.


	14. Attacked by the Heir of Slytherin

Ari found himself enjoying settling into the routine of Hogwarts. He ate his own food at the welcome feast, and nobody mentioned his bar mitzvah. The next day, Ari was eating his egg omelet and marveling over the fact that his mother always sends him good fresh food, when he heard screaming coming from the Gryffindor table. Everyone sat silently until the screaming stopped.

"Someone got a howler!" Terry laughed.

"I don't get why any parent would do that," Ari said. "She's embarrassing herself more than she is embarrassing her kid. Everyone knows that there is a mother who yells in Gryffindor."

"Its how you yell at people from far away," Stephen explained. "She felt her son needed a scolding and provided one the best way she could."

Ari was looking forward to getting to know his new defense professor. He figured anyone would be better than Quirrell. He was wrong.

The first defense class, Lockhart gave out a ridiculous quiz. Once Ari realized that none of the questions are academic, he decided to have fun on some of the more creative questions. For favorite color, he picked blue and white, Liverpool colors. Secret ambition was to be the goalie at football. Greatest achievement was scoring a goal. Ideal birthday gift was a football of course. The ironic part was that Ari remembered some of the right answers. He was tempted to put lilac as the favorite color, but didn't want to inflate an already overinflated ego. After handing in his paper, he watched Lockhart make a fool out of himself for the rest of class.

The rest of the first week of classes was uneventful. Ari wasn't too pleased with the mandrakes, preferring ordinary plants, but made sure his earmuffs were fully in place and did what he was supposed to.

Before he knew it, it was Friday afternoon and Ari was headed home for Shabbos. During the meal, he told his parents about the episode on the train.

"Why did you tell them you were having a bar mitzvah?" Tatti accused.

"I didn't," Ari said, "I was practicing my parsha and they asked what I was doing."

"Maybe we could have one table for Hogwarts friends," Mommy offered.

"They don't look Jewish," Ari pointed out. "Michael has very long hair, Dean is black, Ernie's hair is on the long side, and none of them have Jewish names. Besides, nobody mentioned it since the train ride."

"Maybe they'll forget," Tatti said.

"If they don't, what should I do?" Ari wanted to know.

"Make sure they know exactly what they need to do to look Jewish," Mommy suggested, "but hopefully, it won't come to that."

For the rest of September and October, the bar mitzvah didn't come up. Ari wondered if his friends agreed not to bring it up, if they were planning their own party, or if Kevin managed to explain to everyone why they can't come. Before Ari knew it, it was Halloween again.

Once again, Ari ate in the common room while his friends went to the feast. He remembered the troll from last year, and hoped that nothing will happen this year.

"Mrs. Norris was attacked!" Terry yelled when they came back to the common room.

"Who?" asked Ari.

"Filch's cat," Michael explained.

"The old guy who cleans the floors?" Ari asked. "Why would someone attack his cat?"

"There was sign," Terry said, "that the chamber of secrets was reopened. Enemies should beware or something like that."

"It looked like it was written in blood," Michael added.

"It looked like red paint to me," Kevin said.

"But who did it?" Ari asked.

"Probably Potter and his cronies," Stephen said. "They were the first ones there."

"What happened to the cat?" asked Ari.

"It looked dead," Terry told him.

"I doubt a second year could do that," Ari said. "I know that I can't kill a cat."

"Who else could it be?" Stephen asked.

"You said the sign said enemies, beware?" Ari asked.

"It said enemies of the heir beware," Michael corrected.

"Who is the heir?" Ari asked. "What chamber was open?"

"Maybe the chamber of secrets," Michael suggested.

"What's that?" Ari wanted to know.

"They say that Slytherin built a secret chamber that only his heir can open," Stephen explained, "But there's no proof of it anywhere."

"That makes it simple," Ari said. "Stay away from Slytherins, unless you know that they're okay, and you shouldn't get hurt."

People continued talking about the attack for the next few days. After a while though, the conversation shifted to quidditch.

Once again, the first match of the year was Gryffindor against Slytherin, and it was on Shabbos. Ari didn't mind missing it. He knew he would hear all the details when he came back.

Sure enough, he heard about Harry ending up in the hospital with a boneless arm and that Gryffindor won. The next morning at breakfast, he heard that Colin Creevey was petrified. For the first time, Ari was worried about his safety at Hogwarts.


	15. Two Bar Mitzvahs

Throughout the first week of December, all people would talk about was the attack on Colin and how to protect themselves if necessary. Stephen stayed with Kevin whenever they left the common room, so that the only muggleborn boy in his year had constant protection from the only pure-blood.

People continued discussing the best methods of protection the following week. Ari told his parents about it, but since they didn't know the method of the attack, they had no advice for protection. Ari was relieved when the next week; he saw a sign about the dueling club.

Ari watched carefully when Snape disarmed Lockhart. He figured that the spell didn't look too hard and was eager to practice it, however, when he tried it on Michael, he did not get it on his first few tries. Ari also watched the snake spell that Malfoy used on Potter. He wasn't too impressed with it. Even though Malfoy conjured a snake, he couldn't control it. He watched with horror as the snake headed toward Justin and was as surprised as everyone else when Potter hissed at the snake and stopped it from attacking.

After the shock of finding out that Potter was a parselmouth, Ravenclaws were debating whether or not Potter was the heir of Slytherin. Some students went to the library to look of Slytherin's line but didn't see any Potters on it. The last known descendants of Slytherin were a brother and sister, Morphin and Merope Gaunt. That led to a debate about if people stopped keeping track of Slytherin's descendants or if he has no heir and Potter was claiming it for himself based on his parselmouth ability.

The next day, after Justin was attacked, Ari went with Terry, Michael, Ernie, Dean, and Seamus to visit him in the hospital wing. Professor Sprout was in there, talking to Madam Pomfrey.

"There's no point in visiting him, boys," Professor Sprout said sympathetically. "He can't hear or feel anything. It's best if you return to your dorms."

"Did you tell Justin's mother yet?" Ernie asked.

"That's what we're going to do," Professor Sprout said. "As his parents are muggles, they can't come visit him in the hospital wing, but they do need to know not to meet the train as Justin will not be coming home from the holidays. I'm going to meet them at their home tonight to tell them."

"There's something else also," Ernie said, glancing at Ari. "Anthony doesn't know it yet, but we were planning a surprise party for him after the train gets to the station. Justin's mother was supposed to bring the cake. I suppose that if she didn't get the cake yet, you could tell her that the party is off."

"You were planning a party for me?" Ari asked, surprised.

"Of course," Michael said, "since we can't come to your bar mitzvah. Justin's mother was going to pick up a cake from a kosher bakery since she has some Jewish friends. We weren't going to miss this important milestone in your life."

"I can't believe my bar mitzvah is next week," Ari said. "I don't really feel like partying now."

"Justin will be okay," Professor Sprout assured everyone. "Once the mandrakes are ready, he'll be good as new. You could have your party then."

"I guess we're not having your bar mitzvah party after all," Terry said. "Too bad you won't invite us to the real thing."  
"If I would know you could pass as Jewish muggles, I would invite all of you for sure," Ari said. "Michael and Dean are the ones who look the most not Jewish, but none of you would be able to pass as a Jew if having a conversation with one of my muggle friends. Maybe I can have a party in my house the day before my bar mitzvah for you lot."

"I still don't feel like partying," Ernie said.

"Me neither," Ari said, "But on Thursday night of next week, I'm not getting a choice about it. It's up to you if you want to come the day before. I'll give you all the address for my floo."

"What's floo?" Dean asked.

"It's traveling through fireplaces," Ari explained. "It's an easy form of magical transportation and how I get home every Shabbos. I wish I could floo to Hogwarts every 1 September since it's a waste of time to travel to London, but I was told it's against the rules."

"So how could I get to you?" Dean asked.

"I live in Glasgow," Ari told him. "Do you have any way of getting there?"

"You live in Scotland, and you go to London when it's time to get home?" Dean exclaimed. "That makes no sense! No wonder you complain about the train ride. I live in London, so for me, it's convenient."

"I could stop off in London on my way and pick you up," Seamus told Dean. "We spend lots of time shopping in London anyway."

They agreed to six o'clock Wednesday night and made sure to tell Stephen and Kevin. Kevin said there's no way he could make it as his family has plans for the whole week, but Stephen said he could try to come.

The train ride home was a solemn event. Ernie was mourning for Justin and Kevin was scared he would be next. As the train went through Scotland, the others tried to lighten the atmosphere by teasing Ari that he should just jump out the window and go home.

Ari made sure to tell his family that he invited his Hogwarts friends. Tatti wasn't too happy about it, but Mommy said it was fine. After Shabbos, they discussed what to serve. Ari offered to bake a cake and listed some of his favorite foods for his mother to prepare.

On Wednesday, at exactly six o'clock, the floo flared to life, and Michael and Terry came tumbling into the living room. Not long after, Dean and Seamus came. Finally, Stephen came, reporting that Ernie wasn't going to make it.

The food caused lots of comments and questions. Nobody has ever tasted potato kugel before. Ari explained that he normally only has it on Shabbos and holidays, but since it's one of his favorite foods, he asked his mother to serve it. They all enjoyed the food and Dean and Ari thought it was funny the way that Stephen marveled over every muggle invention, which was practically the whole house. Michael asked Ari to recite his speech that he was saying the following night. Ari tried to explain that it's not something they would understand, but when his fellow Ravenclaws got insulted, he said his speech.

Everyone was surprised that Ari made his own birthday cake. Mrs. Goldstein explained that Ari loved baking at an early age, although he doesn't always follow recipes correctly and made many errors in his early days. She entertained everyone with stories of how Ari read 2 ¼ as 21 and 4 and completely messed up; of the time he and his friend Mordechai were baking a cake for a school party and forgot the eggs, and of times Ari decided not to measure ingredients and to just estimate, so he made some very oily knishes. That led to a new discussion as none of the others (except for possibly Dean) ever tasted knishes, so Mrs. Goldstein took some out of her freezer and warmed them up in the oven. Of course, they wanted to know how the freezer and oven work. Mrs. Goldstein was relieved when all the guests left for the night.

The next day was the real bar mitzvah. There was no kugel, knishes or burgers, as the food had to be fancier. After the formal meal filled with speeches, and dancing to very loud music, Ari was glad his bar mitzvah was over. He greatly preferred his bar mitzvah with his Hogwarts friends.

All of Ari's muggle cousins were staying for Shabbos. Ari's cousin Chaim commented that some of Ari's friends said he dorms for yeshiva. Ari explained that his parents didn't feel the level of learning was high enough here, so he goes to a better yeshiva with a dorm. He told him that most of his friends from his new yeshiva live in London, so they didn't make it to the bar mitzvah, but they did throw him a party before he left for Chanukah.

Ari lained perfectly on Shabbos and when the bar mitzvah was finished, he was surprised that he was looking forward to going back to school.


	16. The Heir Attacks Again

January passed quickly, and Ari was surprised when on February 14th, the dining room looked like it was decorated by a little girl whose mother invested in confetti. When Lockhart announced that it's Valentine's Day, Ari seriously considered taking his breakfast back to the common room, but his friends convinced him to stay.

Ari found the whole concept of Valentine's Day to be annoying. Luckily, all the Ravenclaw girls in his year noticed he never felt comfortable interacting with them and didn't send him anything. His friends had fun making fun of Lockhart, which was becoming a favorite activity. Ari and Terry started hassling him in class, asking him to teach them the spells he used in his books, claiming that they need to be prepared in case they ever meet a banshee, ghoul, hag, troll, vampire, werewolf, or yeti. Lockhart tried to explain that they weren't second year spells, but they insisted that if their second year textbooks talk about them, they have a right to know. Over time, Lockhart stopped calling on them in class.

Before Pesach, the second years were told they need to select electives for next year. Ari wasn't sure what to take and discussed it with his family while he was home.

"Muggle studies is obviously a waste of time," Ari pointed out, "as I'm muggle raised. Magical Creatures is out as I don't like animals; and divination and arithmancy both deal with false prophecies so their assur. That only leaves ancient runes."

"I took ancient runes and care of magical creatures," Tatti said. "I didn't really enjoy either course. Like you, I don't like animals, and I found the runes to be very hard, although you may have an easier time with it."  
"Isn't Arithmancy math?" Mommy asked.

"It's using math to predict the future," Ari said.

"That does sound interesting," Mommy commented.

"Also against halacha," Ari added.

"What good is care of magical creatures anyway," Ari complained. "I'm never going to see any of them once I leave Hogwarts. Maybe I should do muggle studies just to get an easy course."

"That's bittul zman," Mommy reprimanded.

"So is care of magical creatures," Ari complained.

"People are going to wonder why you're taking muggle studies if you're muggle raised," Mommy countered.

"People will wonder why I'm taking care of magical creatures if I'm scared of animals," Ari retorted.

"Maybe we should discuss this with Rabbi Kohn," Mommy finally suggested.

Rabbi Kohn's take on the courses was completely different than the Goldsteins.

"If you're attacked, which subject would help you most?" Rabbi Kohn challenged.

"None of them," Ari said. "Muggle studies will just teach me things I already know, I don't expect to get attacked by magical creatures, divination is an attempt to turn an ordinary wizard into a navi, and arithmancy is using numbers to predict the future."

"Aren't you supposed to be good with numbers?" Rabbi Kohn asked. "I thought you're the one who figures out gematrias in your head."

"I usually do," Ari said, "but as these are English words, I don't know the gematria of any of them. I would have to first spell each course in Hebrew."

"That's not my point," Rabbi Kohn said. "I mean that Hashem gave you a gift. You always got good marks on math tests without studying. You have magic. It makes sense to combine the two, just don't try to predict the future when you don't need to for class."

Ari agreed and signed up for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Most of his roommates were taking the same courses as they considered the other ones to be weak options.

When Ari came back to Hogwarts after Shabbos one week, he was surprised to find the castle in a lockdown. He was told that there were more attacks over Shabbos and lots of extra security precautions will be taken. That meant he could no longer play football with Dean on Sundays. Dean wasn't sure if he was a muggleborn and didn't want to take any chances. Ari resigned himself to having a boring end of the school year.

Ari got used to the teachers walking him to class. He thought it was a bit strange as none of the attacks happened on the way to class, but he figured anything the teachers are doing to keep students safe should be appreciated.

Most of the Ravenclaws spent the month of May studying for exams. Ari listened as friends revised aloud and corrected things he knew were incorrect, but didn't do much studying himself. Three days before exams were supposed to begin; all students were sent back to their common rooms.

Everyone was talking about the latest attack despite the fact that nobody knew what happened. At this point, everyone was willing to admit that Potter was not the heir of Slytherin as his best friend was attacked, but nobody knew who it could be.

As it got later at night, people started going to bed. Ari davened maariv in the empty common room before getting undressed and going to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Ari woke up very confused. People were hitting him, shining a light in his face, pouring water on him, and trying to get him out of bed.

"What do you want?" he mumbled.

"They announced that we're having a feast tonight!" Terry yelled. "Potter killed Slytherin's monster and saved the girl who was attacked tonight! You need to come with us!"

"Give me some time," Ari mumbled, hurrying to wash negel vasser and keep up with his roommates. "Why can't we wait until the morning to celebrate?"

Ari was relieved to hear that exams were cancelled. He was still annoyed about being dragged out of bed for feast he can't partake in, as his parents weren't notified and didn't send any food in the middle of the night.

June passed quickly, and once again it was time to go home. On the Hogwarts Express, everyone was once again teasing Ari that he should jump out the window while still in Scotland. When they finally got to platform 9 ¾, Justin's parents greeted them with a cake from a kosher bakery.

"Sorry we missed the bar mitzvah," Mrs. Finch-Fletchley said, "But I got a kosher cake to celebrate Justin's recovery."

All the Hufflepuffs in their year stayed behind for cake together with the five Ravenclaw boys, Dean and Seamus.

"Ari had a party for us in his house after all," Dean told Justin. "It's too bad you missed it."

After they all thanked Mrs. Finch-Fletchley for the cake, they said good-bye to each other, promising to keep in touch over the summer. Ari barely noticed being apparated home. He was finally starting to get used to the sensation.


	17. A New Year Brings New Classes

Ari quickly settled into a routine at home. He davened shacharis at shul every morning, learned with his father for an hour, did some of his Hogwarts homework, and spent the afternoons playing ball with his friends until mincha.

Ari never enjoyed writing essays. His mother was one of the weirdoes who wrote for fun. She often had poems published in magazines and wrote all sorts of silly stories for Ari's personal use. Ari admitted that some writing was fun; he started writing poems for his mother's birthday every year when he was ten, and he enjoyed writing about his own experiences. The essays from school were different though. Witch burnings were an interesting topic, Ari had to admit, and while he did feel it was pointless, it wasn't for the same reasons Binns thought it was. Ari felt that it was cruel to kill people and purposely killing people who could help you is stupid. That's not what Binns wanted his essay to be about. Snape's essay wasn't any better. Ari enjoyed potions. He didn't really like to measure out ingredients, but he liked to experiment, something Snape didn't approve of. Writing a whole essay about one potion is boring. Ari wanted to write about what would happen if he would add various other ingredients to it, but for some reason, Snape got upset when Ari did things like that.

Michael was once again sending Ari constant letters. Ari got to read about Michael's summer holiday. He was doing some traveling with his family.

Terry also wrote about his family travels. Somehow, Ari didn't think either of them would be interested in the few weeks he spent in Liverpool. When Terry suggested that Ari and Michael meet him in Diagon Alley for school shopping, Ari agreed.

Dean and Ari kept up a regular correspondence about football. Dean always included funny pictures.

Ari also got his letter about the following school year, along with a Hogsmeade permission slip. He wondered if Hogsmeade visits were on Shabbos or Sunday.

One morning, Tatti mentioned that he heard on the muggle news that Sirius Black escaped jail. He explained to Ari that Black was one of the four bullies that bothered Snape. Ari wasn't too bothered by the news, but Michael and Terry both wrote to say how weird it is for someone to escape Azkaban.

A week before school started, Ari met Michael and Terry at Diagon Alley. Tatti complained that Ari shouldn't be hanging out with his not Jewish friends when he doesn't have to, but Mommy explained that it's important for Ari to have friends in school and it's not a good idea to snub them.

Michael and Terry both wanted ice cream. Ari sat and watched as they ate their treif ice cream, wishing Diagon Alley had some kosher stores. They bought their books next, and were relieved to see that all three of them were taking the same electives. They stopped off at Magical Menagerie just to look, and Michael and Terry had a good time making fun of Ari for being scared to of a crazy orange cat that was loose in the store. It wasn't until Ari commented that he has no reason to with them again, that Terry and Michael showed some signs of feeling guilty. They asked about the closest kosher restaurant and had their parents escort them there for dinner. Of course, five miles of traveling through muggle London was always entertaining.

Ari didn't see his friends again until the next week when they boarded the Hogwarts Express. Unfortunately, the journey was less pleasant than usual thanks to a dementor. Ari gasped as all the happiness was sucked out of the compartment, but luckily, the dementor didn't stay long.

"What was that?" Michael gasped.

'"I don't know," Terry said, "But whatever it is, I hope we never see it again."

After a while, the rumor reached their compartment that the creature on the train was a dementor and that Potter fainted. Ari never felt so relieved when they finally reached Hogwarts.

During the feast, Dumbledore mentioned that dementors were guarding the school against Sirius Black. Ari wondered how anyone could possibly think one crazy wizard was worse than an army of dementors.

Ari enjoyed his new classes immensely. They were the type of classes he liked best, with no foolish wand waving, to quote Professor Snape.

During the first Arithmancy class, they were told to calculate the number of their name. Ari asked if he should use his legal name, Anthony, his proper Hebrew name, Aryeh Tuvia, or his nickname, Ari. He was told to use his legal name, but decided to use all three to see if there's a difference.

Ari was the easiest to figure out. His character number was seven, his heart number was three, and his social number was four.

Next, Ari decided to figure out Anthony. After finding out whether y is a consonant or vowel, Ari realized that the only number that changed was the heart number, which changed to a nine.

Aryeh Tuvia was the last computation Ari did. This time, he got the numbers one, three and seven.

Ari decided to find out what each of them mean before deciding which one suits him best. Character wise, Ari was either a seven or a one depending on his name. There was no doubt that seven described Ari to a tee. He was bright and serious and interested in the mysterious. He decided that one doesn't describe him, and wondered about the grandfather he was named after who was also named Aryeh Tuvia Goldstein. He definitely worked with others to save as many Jews as possible during the holocaust. It didn't look like one was a good description of him.

Ari checked his heart numbers next. He had two votes for a three and one for a nine. The three sort of hinted to his sports obsession, while the nine was somewhat troubling. Ari wasn't planning on being a loner his whole life. He decided that his name is definitely not Anthony.

For social, Ari was either a four or a seven. Since seven was already his character number, Ari didn't have to look up what it meant. Ari thought the over practical was a good description of him.

Professor Vector was impressed that Ari figured out three names in the time most people figured out one. Ari explained about the Jewish concept of gematria and how he was used to doing these calculations using the Hebrew alphabet. He quickly decided that Arithmancy was his favorite class.

Runes was more challenging, but also enjoyable. Ari had to work hard and frequently look in his dictionary, but he liked the feeling of learning something different. It wasn't as good as gemara, but Ari figured that over time, he'll master it the same way. Overall, he didn't regret his two choices for electives.


	18. And Old Classes

Ari was eager to find out if his new defense teacher was any good. He didn't look like the type to make a good teacher with his overall shabby appearance, but he looked so different than Lockhart that Ari couldn't help feeling hopeful.

During the first defense class, Ari's class learned about boggarts. First, Professor Lupin asked some questions about boggarts which the Ravenclaws were eager to answer. Next, he told them the spell for repelling boggarts, explaining that boggarts are repelled by laughter. He asked Padma to go first and asked what she is scared of. When Padma said a snake, Lupin asked how to make a snake funny.

As other students were taking their turns, Ari wondered what animal his boggart would turn to. He also tried to think of how to make any animal funny. He didn't even pay attention to his classmates' fears, as he was so scared of what he would see.

"Anthony," Professor Lupin called.

Ari stepped forward and the boggart turned into a lion.

"Riddikulus!" Ari screamed trying to think of the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz.

Instead of acting like a cowardly lion, the lion changed to a tiger.

"Riddikulus!" Ari screamed again, only thinking that he doesn't want to be the tiger's supper.

The tiger turned into a bear. As the bear ran towards him, Ari focused very hard on Mordechai Ben David's mashiach song, and this time when he did the spell, the bear began singing and dancing. Ari breathed a sigh of relief that he finally mastered the spell.

After everyone had a turn, Lupin put the boggart back in the wardrobe.

"Can anyone tell me why Anthony's boggart had three forms?" the professor asked.

"It should have had four," Terry teased. "I was waiting to see the cat."

"Lions and tigers are both in the cat family," Ari countered.

"Fine," Michael said teasingly. "A toad or a mouse."

"So it looks like you're scared of animals," Lupin said.

Ari blushed and looked down at his shoes.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about," Professor Lupin said. "Some animals are very dangerous, and some of your classmates had specific animals that they feared. What were you thinking when you faced the lion?"

"I was trying to think of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz," Ari explained sheepishly.

"Were there any other thoughts in your head?" Lupin asked.

"I didn't want to be the lion's next meal," Ari whispered.

"I wouldn't want to be eaten by a lion either," Lupin agreed. "So instead of keeping the funny thought in your mind, you let your fear cause the boggart to change. Why was it easier once you go to the bear?"

"It usually takes me a few times to get a spell correctly," Ari told him. "It makes sense that it would take me three tries on a boggart."

"Also, the animal forms your boggart took are extremely dangerous," Professor Lupin tried to reassure him. "It makes perfect sense that you were trying to act fast before the animal gets to you, as all three animals have caused the deaths of innocent people."

Professor Lupin awarded everyone points and dismissed the class.

The next class was Transfiguration. After talking about animagi, McGonagall turned to a cat before everyone's eyes. While the rest of the class cheered, Ari screamed, causing everyone to laugh at him.

"Are you scared of cats?" McGonagall asked him, after turning back.

"He's scared of all animals," Terry teased. "Didn't you ever notice that when we transfigure mice, tortoises, or beatles, Anthony stays as far away from the table as possible?"

"That does explain things," McGonagall agreed. "I'm sorry I frightened you, Mr. Goldstein. I think you are the first student I encountered who is scared of cats, but since you know an animagus is actually a person, there's no reason to be scared."

Ari was embarrassed for the second time in one day. He wondered if his friends will ever let him forget about today's events.

During the first Potions class, Ari had to make the shrinking potion that he wrote an essay about. He did the potion correctly and waited for Snape to see it before asking, "What would happen if I would add another spleen and some more leech juice?"

"You would fail," Snape said bluntly.

"The potion would probably be a different color, right?" Ari asked. "Would the change in color affect the strength of the potion?"

"If you could brew a potion correctly, there's no reason to do it wrong," Snape said firmly, walking away before Ari could ask anything else.

"I wonder if adding baking soda would provide an antidote to the potion," Ari said to Terry. "Baking soda fills things with air, just like yeast. They're both useful when trying to make explosions."

"Five points from Ravenclaw!" Snape snapped. "I told you there are no explosions in my class!"

"How does he hear me from the other end of the classroom?" Ari wondered.

"Bats have excellent hearing," Terry whispered back.

Somehow, Terry didn't get in trouble for his comment. Ari wondered if the word explosion triggered something for Snape. He decided to try to suppress his urge to explode things as much as possible, but he couldn't help wondering how muggle ingredients would react in a potion.


	19. Nothing New

September and October passed quickly with Ari going home often for a three day yom tov. He wanted to stay home tzom gedalia also, but his mother said that a fast day is no reason to miss school. Overall, it was easy to remember fast days in Hogwarts since his mother didn't send food until after the fast was over.  
There were more scary creatures in defense, but Ari tried not to show visible signs of fear. It helped that the creatures were often in tanks.

Ari made sure not to irritate Snape in Potions. He wondered if Snape was worried about Black, considering their past history.

Herbology was interesting as usual, at least to people like Ari who liked plants.

Ancient Runes was making more sense to Ari every day. He didn't have to always look in his dictionary anymore, and tried passing notes to his friends written in runes.

Arithmancy was still Ari's favorite. He got to use his love of numbers for something fun. He shared it with his family when he was home for yom tov. His mother enjoyed calculating various names, while his father acted as if they were both crazy.

After all the yamim tovim passed, people started talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. Ari was relieved to find out it was on Sunday, but he wasn't sure what he could do there. He wasn't into pranks, so he didn't think he would find Zonkos too interesting. He knew the sweet shop would have nothing kosher, and he didn't understand what was so special about the shrieking shack.

While Ari was right that those three places didn't interest him, he tagged along with his friends and soon found himself in Dervish and Banges. Ari was fascinated by all the products they sold. He ended up staying there while his friends went to The Three Broomsticks and they met up again after. Zonkos wasn't so bad either. While Ari would never consider buying any of those products, he thought it might be good to know what other people may do to him. He also wondered if any Zonkos products would be useful in a muggle war.

Ari stayed in the common room during the Halloween feast again. He was surprised when everyone came back to hear that nothing happened this year. He found out he was wrong ten minutes later, when Professor Flitwick walked into the common room and announced they are returning to the great hall because Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts.

Ari didn't think he could sleep in the same room as girls, even if there were many other people around. He figured he could just sit upright the whole time and try not to look at anyone who may not be tzniusdik. The head boy yelled at everyone to go to sleep, but nobody paid him any attention. At some point, Ari fell asleep sitting upright against the wall, or at least, that's the position he was in when he woke up.

People discussed Sirius Black for a few days before the conversations shifted back to quidditch. Ari wondered why things always happened at Gryffindor matches but not at any other matches. He wasn't even too surprised when he heard that dementors came out on the pitch during the Gryffindor Hufflepuff game and that Potter was once again in the hospital wing. The only report Ari heard from the Ravenclaw Hufflepuff game was that Ravenclaw won by a lot.

Ari was finding the decorations in December to be a bit confusing. Living in a diverse neighborhood, he grew up seeing X-mas decorations, but having real fairies as decorations was going too far. Of course, Michael and Terry teased him when he said he felt sorry for the fairies.

The next Hogsmeade weekend was on Shabbos. As students were going home the next day, Ari didn't bother coming back after Shabbos. He was relieved not to have to deal with the pre-holiday rush at the castle.

When everyone came back after the holiday, most discussion centered on whether or not Ravenclaw would win the quidditch cup this year. They lost to Slytherin a week into the term, but it wasn't such a big loss. Ari missed the game as usual, but he heard about it after.

The next match would be Ravenclaw against Gryffindor. The Ravenclaws were really hoping they would win, but weren't too optimistic.

"Why wouldn't you win?" Ari asked.

"Potter will do anything to get the snitch," Davies, the captain explained. "In first year, he caught it in his mouth from a broom that was throwing him off. At the next match, he caught it right away, not giving anyone time to score. Last year, a bludger was targeting him, and he told the beaters to leave it and let him outfly it, and he still caught the snitch. The only reason he lost a match this year was because of dementors."

"Who's our seeker?" Ari asked.

"Cho Chang," Davies told him. "She's good, but she's not Potter."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ari said confidently. "Just stay with Potter and she won't even have to look for the snitch. She just needs to get in front of him whenever he sees it."

"That may work," Davies said. "It's better than your earlier strategy with the fake fouls."

"That's only for when you play with Slytherin," Ari corrected. "If they're fouling you anyway, you may as well take advantage."

Ari was disappointed to hear that his strategy didn't work, and Ravenclaw lost again. Soon though, people stopped talking about the match and started talking about Black breaking into the Gryffindor dorms. When people lost interest in that conversation, the talk shifted to the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Once again, it was scheduled for Shabbos, so Ari knew he wasn't going to go. Ari didn't really care. He heard rumors that two Gryffindors also weren't going, but unlike him, they couldn't go home. One was being punished, and the other one didn't have the permission slip signed.

Not long after the Hogsmeade weekend, Ari learned cheering charms in Charms class. When he was home for Pesach, he decided to try it on his family.

A week after Pesach, Ari missed the last quidditch match of the year. Not surprisingly, Gryffindor won. His friends provided him with a commentary of all the fouls that happened in the match.

The rest of the semester was spent revising for exams. Ari didn't study too hard. He skimmed his books if they interested him, and ignored them if they didn't.

This time, Professor McGonagall noticed when Ari backed away from his tortoise that used to be a teapot.

"It can't hurt you," she said reassuringly. "Especially since you transfigured it into a dead tortoise."

"That's safer to deal with," Ari said.

The cheering charm was easy, since Ari practiced over Pesach. Ancient runes was also not too difficult. One thing Ari did do before the test was read his book. This way, he remembered what most of the runes meant. Potions wasn't too difficult either. Ari completed his potion with time to spare. He was half asleep during Astronomy, but felt confident that he did okay anyway. History of magic also wasn't bad. Ari learned nothing from Binns, but he read the book and wrote what he remembered. Herbology was always easy, and the Defense against Dark Arts would have been fun if it wasn't scary. The last test was Arithmancy, Ari's favorite subject. He knew he did well when he handed in his paper.

Ari went home for Shabbos after exams, annoyed that he had to come back in order to go to London and go home again, but he was told that he can't miss the last week of school. When he came back, he was surprised to hear that Professor Lupin is a werewolf! Ari didn't know what to think about that. Obviously, he's scary if he's an animal, but as a teacher, he was pretty nice.

Gryffindor won the house cup again, which didn't surprise anyone. At least this year, Harry Potter and his friends didn't win a bunch of last minute points.

The train ride home was a waste of time as usual. Ari sat with Michael and Terry who were discussing the quidditch world cup. Dean and Seamus came in for a while to join the discussion. Seamus was obviously supporting Ireland and was planning on attending the game. Nobody else knew yet what they were doing this summer. They agreed to keep in touch, although Ari wasn't interested in the game. It wasn't long before he was back home with another summer ahead of him.


	20. Summer 1994

Ari quickly settled into a summer routine back at home. He was worried that his muggle friends wouldn't have much to do with him anymore as he's been gone for most of three years, and was relieved to find that was not the case. He learned with his friend Mordechai every morning, and wondered what Michael and Terry would think of gemara learning. Afternoons were reserved for sports. Ari continued his love of all muggle sports and always knew he could find someone to play with at the park.

Ari received an inclination for where his fears came from one day while walking with his father. It started pouring rain, and Tatti refused to cross the street to go home because there was a small dog sniffing a tree while its owner stood nearby, oblivious to the rain. Ari ran home, ignoring the dog, so he won't get soaked. Tatti arrived ten minutes later, drenched and complaining about the huge monster that wasn't letting him pass.

Ari did his school shopping earlier this year. He was a bit surprised to find out he was supposed to have dress robes, but decided to ignore it and just bought his books.

Ari received letters from Michael and Terry about the quidditch world cup. Terry and Michael were both going with their families and tried to convince Ari to join them.

"My mother is a muggle, and my father has no connection to the wizarding world since graduating Hogwarts," Ari wrote back. "Neither of my parents have any interest in quidditch and they wouldn't want me to waste any of my bar mitzvah money on tickets."

"My mother had nothing to do with the wizarding world until she got her Hogwarts letter when she was eleven," Terry wrote back. "Even though her parents are muggles, she still thinks it's worth it to go to the world cup. It hasn't been held in Britain in thirty years."

Michael and Terry both wrote about camping there overnight and invited Ari to join them. Ari wrote back that it's not worth the hassle of bringing his own food and trying to keep it fresh. Besides, his father was very against him socializing with Hogwarts students outside of school. Instead, he offered to take him to a football or rugby game once the season started again in August.

Michael and Terry didn't take no for an answer. They showed up at the Goldstein house on August 24th, trying to convince the Goldsteins to let Ari go. Mr. Goldstein explained that they were going to Liverpool for shabbos and would spend the last few days of the summer with Ari's muggle grandparents. Mr. Boot argued that Ari would easily be home in time for Shabbos, but Tatti explained that they have to go by car since they were going to muggle house where nobody knows that magic is real. Ari told his friends that he's going to a Liverpool football game on Sunday and asked if they're interested.

"Why would I be interested in football when there's quidditch?" Michael asked.

"Why would I be interested in quidditch when there's football?" Ari countered.

"Do you really mind not going?" Mrs. Corner asked.

"I never even saw a quidditch game," Ari said. "I never watched a Hogwarts quidditch match. I wouldn't know what's flying at a professional one. Besides, knowing Michael and Terry, I'm going to here every detail on the Hogwarts Express whether I like it or not."

The Corners and Boots left not long after that. Ari wondered what stories Michael and Terry told their parents to make them think it was necessary to barge in and try to get Ari.

Ari didn't mind missing the match. He enjoyed the Liverpool football game and had fun playing football in Bubby's yard with his cousin Tehilla until Tanta Chani interfered.

"Don't you think the two of you are getting too old to play with each other?" Tanta Chani asked.

"It's just football," Ari said. "It's not like I'm tackling her. There's nobody else to play with here, and besides, we're cousins."

"In a few years, Tehilla will be old enough to get married," Tanta Chani told him. "It's not appropriate that she's still playing football with a boy."

"Nobody has to know," Ari said. "It's not like we're going to the park to play with an audience. Besides, we're cousins. It's not a typical boy-girl relationship."

Tanta Chani went inside to get Mommy's opinion. Luckily, Mommy took Ari's side.

"He has nobody else to play with here," Mommy insisted. "Besides, I still played basketball with Moshe at that age."

Tanta Chani agreed to let it go, but insisted that an adult needed to supervise them and they can't be left alone in Bubby's yard. Ari agreed to that compromise, especially when Tatti offered to be the adult and instead joined the game. They decided to play Tehilla and Ari against Tatti, but Tatti creamed them.

"I know, let's play basketball!" Ari suggested, knowing his own father's weaknesses.

Tehilla watched as Ari beat his father in basketball 15-1.

"I was the star of the basketball team when I was a kid," Tatti bragged to Tehilla.

"That's not what Oma says," Ari replied innocently. "She told me that the only time you got off the bench was when Opa yelled at the coaches to give you a chance."

"All right," Tatti conceded. "I wasn't as good as the good players, but I was better or at least as good as the rest."

Since Tanta Chani didn't trust her daughter with Ari unsupervised, Chaim and Shifra joined them the next afternoon. They decided to do boys against girls, and once Tehilla realized that Shifra wasn't much of a help, she asked her to be goalie. Ari followed her example and had Chaim be goalie. Afterwards, Ari and Chaim played some rugby while Tehilla and Shifra did whatever it is that girls do when they don't play sports.

Ari and Chaim spent some time hanging out in the park with Chaim's friends. As long as Ari knew his sports, he was able to join the club of boys anywhere. When one of the other boys mentioned Liverpool's game this past Sunday, Ari mentioned that he went. He also said that a friend in yeshiva was a West Hams fan and he was looking forward to when the two teams faced each other in September so he could gloat. That led to a discussion on how individual West Ham players compare to individual Liverpool players. Overall, Ari was sorry he had to leave Liverpool to get to the Hogwarts express.


	21. Triwizard Tournament

On September 1, Tatti announced that he has to leave early to drive Ari down to London for yeshiva. He said he'll pick Mommy up on the way back as there's no reason to make Mommy shlep all the way to London.

"I'm surprised yeshiva starts so close to yom tov," Bubby said. "Most yeshivas start earlier when Rosh Hashana is early."

"We're not most yeshivas," Ari told her.

Ari and Tatti went to the car and drove out of Liverpool.

"We're not really driving to London, right," Ari asked his father.

"I don't see a point," Tatti said. "I just need to stay out long enough for it to be believable that I did. I'll apparate you once I find a good place to leave the car."

Ari sat with Michael and Terry on the Hogwarts Express. The rain was annoying but didn't interfere with conversation in the compartment. They discussed classes for the next school year, wondering who the next defense teacher will be. They ate lunch with Ari offering to share his sandwiches. Terry and Michael turned him down and instead bought garbage from the trolley. As expected, Ari heard about the quidditch world cup and the death eater uprising that happened there.

"You see," Ari told them. "I was right not to go. It's too dangerous. The football match I went to was much safer."

Dean came in during the ride. Ari told him that the Liverpool- West Ham match is September 10th, and he knows which team we'll win. After spending time with Chaim's friends, Ari was able to discuss the pros and cons of each player on both teams, so he and Dean discussed football while Michael, Terry and Seamus discussed the world cup.

The rain was unbearable when they got off the Hogwarts Express and hurried to school. Ari tried to dry up while waiting for the sorting to end. Once the sorting was over, Ari unwrapped his potato knish and started eating. He had just finished his chocolate pudding when Dumbledore got up to speak. A scary looking man wandered in during Dumbledore's announcements and was introduced as the new defense teacher.

"He's like you," Terry whispered when he saw Moody drink from his own flask. "He won't eat school food!"

Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament, but then started a joke about a troll, hag, and leprechaun in a bar. When he went back to discussing the tournament, Ari complained to his friends.

"Now, I'll never find out the joke," Ari whined. "What's the point in starting a joke if you're not going to finish it?"

Terry and Michael shushed him as they wanted to know more about the tournament. While walking back to the Ravenclaw tower, Terry and Michael didn't stop discussing the tournament.

"I wouldn't enter if you paid me," Ari told them. "The death toll is too high?! What's wrong with you people? Why would anyone want to risk their life for a game?"

Terry and Michael agreed with him on principle but insisted it would still be fun.

The next day, it was time to get used to class again. Herbology was a bit disgusting, but Arithmancy was as much fun as usual. Ancient Runes was okay. Potions was somewhat interesting. Ari asked Snape what temperature the fire should be if you want to melt a caldron.

"Why must you always ask foolish questions?" Snape snapped at him. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"No," Ari said honestly. "I finished my potion already and need to pass time until the end of class. I was wondering which metal would burn the fastest and what a cauldron would look like after it's melted."

"Hand in your potion," Snape ordered. "I'll give you extra work to do if you're bored."

Ari thanked his professor and got busy with the new potion he was making.

"I can't believe you asked for extra work," Kevin commented when class was over.

"I don't like to wait around," Ari said. "I have to always be doing something, and my game-boy doesn't work here."

Kevin and Ari discussed their favorite game-boy games while walking to their next class. Defense Against Dark Arts with Professor Moody was scarier than Ari expected. He was happy to be sitting with Kevin since he was the only other muggle raised Ravenclaw boy of his year. The curses were horrible, and Ari hoped to never run into a dark wizard or a spider.

Ari missed a lot of class in September because of yom tov. He was happy that he missed being put under the imperius curse by Moody. He also didn't mind missing Transfiguration, but he still had to turn a hedgehog into a pincushion, and Ari still didn't like dealing with animals. Somehow, Ari still managed to finish his weekly essays for History of Magic and he enjoyed researching antidotes in Potions. Professor Snape continued to let Ari do an extra potion if he finished early.

Ari was happy to be missing the beginning of the triwizard tournament. He considered himself lucky that the other schools were arriving Friday night and that Halloween was on Shabbos this year. He told his parents and grandmother about the tournament, and they both agreed with him that it's crazy to risk your life for a game.

Ari waited until after the Halloween feast should be over to go back to Hogwarts. He wondered what dangerous thing happened this year, considering previous year's events.

Ari was surprised to hear that Hogwarts had too champions and that Harry Potter was one of them. Most of the Ravenclaws were upset that Potter entered since he's too young. They also felt that he would do anything for attention and that's why he entered. Ari wasn't sure how he felt, but he assumed November would be an interesting month.


	22. The Three Tasks

November wasn't as interesting as Ari expected. Some kids wore these horrible buttons that said "Potter stinks". Ari didn't. Summoning spells were fun once Ari finally mastered it. He loved watching objects come flying to him and wondered if he could use it in sports. Ari missed a Hogsmeade weekend, but he didn't really care about that.

Towards the end of November, Ari joined his friends in watching the first task of the tournament. Ari was horrified that the champions had to face dragons. He ended up covering his face for most of the task, but his friends told him everything that was happening.

"Why would anyone want to deal with a dragon?" Ari asked once the task was over.

"They're cool," Terry said. "What's not to like about them?"

"They're dangerous," Ari responded.

"True," Michael agreed, "But it was fun to see the champions get past them. I wonder what I would have done if I was a champion."

"Die?" suggested Ari. "Get burned? Get turned into dragon food?"

"All good suggestions," Terry agreed, "and they're not even too hard to implement. Just stand there and do nothing, and that's what would happen."

In December, Professor Flitwick announced that Hogwarts was having a Yule ball. Ari was a bit put off by the giggling of the girls in his class. He didn't see why they were so interested.

Ari was surprised to hear that most 4th years were staying in school for the holidays. He was looking forward to going home and was happy not to be in school for the ball.

At lunch that day, Padma asked him if he's looking forward to the ball. Ari was shocked as he never spoke to any of the girls in Hogwarts unless it's absolutely necessary.

"I'm going home for the holidays," Ari said. "I always do. The ball doesn't interest me."

"Can't we tempt you to stay?" Lisa asked.

"I have no reason to stay," Ari explained. "I don't celebrate X-mas, and I don't dance with girls. Therefore, there is nothing for me to do here."

"Not even with me?" Mandy asked hopefully. Ari put his head on the table and kept it there for the rest of lunch. The rest of the afternoon, Terry and Michael teased him about having three girls who want him to take them to the ball. Ari did his best to ignore them and sat with Kevin and Stephen for the rest of the day.

The next evening, Ari sat with Michael and Terry in the common room, playing exploding snap. When an unfamiliar girl from another year came over and mentioned the ball, Ari excused himself and went upstairs to bed.

Ari was so happy to be home for the holidays. He told his family how crazy Hogwarts is now. His parents were horrified at a school having a ball.

"They never did anything like that in my day," Tatti said.

"It's because of that stupid tournament," Ari told him. "It's a tradition."

"It's too bad you can't take a year off from Hogwarts and stay in yeshiva," Mommy said, "but you would fall too far behind in your schoolwork."

"I don't know why I have to go to Hogwarts to begin with," Ari complained.

"So you can defend yourself and others," Tatti told him. "We've been through this enough times. Besides, you seem happier there than I was."

"It's not bad," Ari agreed. "I'm just so fed up with this stupid ball. I'm happy that when I come back to school, it will be over."

January was cold and snowy. Ari once again missed a Hogsmeade weekend, but he didn't really miss it, as he wasn't so sure he would have wanted to go anyway.

In Charms, Ari was learning banishing charms. It was lots of fun, and Ari was starting to enjoy Charms almost as much as Arithmancy.

In February, people were trying to guess what the next task was for the tournament. Ari hoped that it wouldn't be as bad the first task, but wasn't very optimistic.

On February 24, Ari sat with Michael and Terry in the stands. They were all surprised to see Harry Potter arriving at the last minute. They listened as Ludo Bagman announced that the champions have an hour to recover what was taken from them.

"What do you think it is?" Terry asked.

"I don't think its right to take other people's things," Ari commented.

"Is there anything you think is right about this tournament?" Michael asked.

"Obviously not," Ari answered. "Otherwise, you would have heard about it by now."

They watched as Cedric and Fleur both used bubble head charms and Victor did a partial transfiguration into a shark. They couldn't figure out why Harry was just walking in the water until his appearance changed and he disappeared under the water.

"What was that?" Ari asked.

"We'll find out after," Michael said. "I wonder what's valuable enough to justify going in that lake."

It was boring to sit there when they couldn't see what was under the water. Ari wished there was a magical version of a video camera that could show them what's happening. Finally, when it was almost an hour, Fleur turned up in tears, empty-handed. She was rushed to the medical tent. Cedric returned next holding Cho, the seeker from the quidditch team.

"They used people as hostages?" Ari said. "That's so wrong! Cho didn't enter the tournament, and what's going to happen to Fleur's hostage?"

Michael and Terry shushed him and watched as Victor returned next with a Gryffindor girl. Finally, Harry returned with a red haired Gryffindor boy and a little girl with silver hair.

"I guess that's what happened to Fleur's hostage," Terry said. "Someone else saved her."

The next few days, everyone was asking Cho what it was like to be a hostage. She admitted that she was sleeping the whole time and was told that she will be okay. Padma Patil informed everyone that Ron Weasley is telling everyone about how he was kidnapped and fifty merpeople beat him into submission before tying him up.

"Trust a Gryffindor to try to make a mountain out of a molehill," Kevin said.

Most of the Ravenclaws decided that Ron's story was entertaining even if it wasn't true.

Ari missed another Hogsmeade weekend in March. For a week after the Hogsmeade weekend, there were lots of howlers at the Gryffindor table. Ari still thought howlers were ridiculous.

Ari was starting to enjoy Moody's classes. This was the type of thing he came to Hogwarts for; to learn how to deflect hexes. Ari asked about muggle weapons and was disappointed that Moody didn't know about guns and bombs.

Ari spent most of the time between Purim and Pesach doing his homework. He was happy to go home for Pesach. He sometimes wished he could spend Pesach with his family in Liverpool, but since Tatti was an only child, Oma would have nobody to have the seder with if they went.

After Pesach, everyone was busy studying for exams. Ari had fun practicing the spells he learned this year, did some Arithmancy work, and reviewed Ancient Runes. He didn't make himself crazy the way some of the other Ravenclaws did with nonstop studying.

Ari was surprised that the History of Magic exam was on Shabbos this year. He told Professor Flitwick who told him he can either take it Friday afternoon or Sunday morning.

Ari knew the last task for the tournament was starting not long before Shabbos was over. He requested permission to return to Hogwarts Sunday morning instead, as he was missing part of the task anyway.

When Ari returned the morning of the 25th, it was to the news that Cedric Diggory died in the last task. There were lots of rumors about how he died. Some people were claiming that creatures in the maze killed him; some said that Voldermort himself killed him, and some said that Viktor Krum killed him in order to prevent him from winning.

When Ari went home the next Shabbos, he told his family that a boy in school died during the final task. They all felt sorry that someone so young died, although Tatti insisted that the boy knew there was a chance of that happening when he entered the tournament. Mommy yelled at Tatti that there is something seriously wrong with his attitude, but Tatti insisted that people shouldn't put themselves in dangerous situations.

At the end of the year feast, Dumbledore announced that Voldermort killed Cedric. Ari found himself crying during Dumbledore's speech. He didn't want to believe that the dark rasha was back, but saw no reason why Dumbledore would lie about it. He felt like Hogwarts should at least be safe, but Cedric was killed at Hogwarts, so maybe it wasn't so safe.

Ari sat with Michael and Terry on the Hogwarts Express. They were discussing what they would do if you-know-who ever attacked the school while they were there. Michael seemed to think that running was the best option; Terry felt that he could fight you-know-who himself, and Ari said that the main goal should be rescuing the younger students. They continued to discuss strategies until the train reached the station and Ari found himself back in Scotland with his family. He hoped the summer would be calmer than the school year.


	23. Preparing for War

Ari told his parents that the dark wizard was back and killed Cedric Diggory.

"Maybe we should move to America," Tatti said immediately.

"You didn't move when he was powerful the first time," Ari countered.

"My parents refused," Tatti admitted. "If it was up to me, I would have left. Americans think the British accent is cute, so I would have been popular wherever I went."

"I'm sure they had a reason for staying," Ari reasoned. "After all, they resented their relatives who fled to America during the holocaust."

"Maybe we should call your mother," Mommy told Tatti. "I don't know enough about the magical world to understand what's happening."

Ari reached for the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hi, Oma," he said cheerfully. "I'm finally home for the summer, and my father wants to run away to America."

"Why would he want to do that?" Oma asked curiously.

"The dark wizard is back," Ari said.

"I'm coming over," Oma said, hanging up the phone.

A few minutes later, Oma walked through the door.

"How do you know he's back?" she asked, without even bothering to greet everyone.

"Professor Dumbledore announced that he killed Cedric Diggory," Ari explained, "But the ministry doesn't want anyone to know, so they're saying he's not back."

"Maybe he isn't," Oma said, "but in case he is, we need to put protective spells all around every Jewish muggle area we know about. Hopefully, he's not targeting muggles yet."

"Isn't it easier to just leave the country?" Tatti asked.

"Do you want to be responsible for any deaths?" Oma retorted.

"I thought we're obligated to save ourselves first," Tatti attempted.

"So we'll first put protective spells over our own houses," Oma agreed. "Then we will put protective spells over all the houses in Glasgow. After that, we could do Liverpool, Stamford Hill, Golders Green, Manchester, and Gateshead. Once those are covered, we could decide what to do next."

July passed quickly with Oma and Tatti traveling all over to put up protective spells. Ari enjoyed a few weeks with his muggle grandparents and cousins. He wished he could warn them that a war may be coming, but knew it wasn't legal. When he said good-bye to his grandparents and cousins, he looked at them hard, as if he had to remember every detail or he may never see them again.

Ari received lots of letters from Michael and Terry when he was home. They said that the ministry of magic is trying to make Dumbledore look senile and Harry look crazy. Nobody really knew what to believe, but Ari felt better knowing that his family did something.

Oma felt it was important for Ari to know how to protect himself. She wanted to teach him apparition, but Tatti said it's illegal to teach it without being a licensed teacher. Oma made sure he knew how to use the floo despite the fact that he used it twice a week for four years. She told him he could bring anyone who needs to be saved home with him or to her house if he can't get home. She also made sure he knew some safe floos in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. She wanted to show Ari how to make a portkey, but again Tatti said it's illegal. Instead, she bought him a broom and worked on his flying. She wanted to have him fly from Hogwarts to Glasgow, but Tatti said there's too big of a risk of being seen. Oma told Ari that whenever the floo is blocked and he needs to escape, he could summon his broom and fly to safety. Another alternative was the knight bus. Oma took Ari for a brief ride on it to show him how it works.

Next, Oma felt it's important for Ari to know who he could trust. Obviously, there was family. While Mommy's family was all muggle, if there was no other safe place accessible at the time. Of course, flying to Liverpool is not reasonable, and there are no floos Ari know about in Liverpool, but it's good to keep in mind if he's using the knight bus. Ari reminded Oma that he has friends he could trust too. Oma told him that teamwork is very important in times of danger, and he, Michael, and Terry should plan things together.

Oma still felt that Ari needed more connections, so she wrote a letter to a cousin she never met. She explained to Mrs. Scamander that they were distantly related, but as her only relative on the continent, she felt it was important to meet. Mrs. Scamander wrote back, and they set up a meeting time at Oma's house.

Tatti, Mommy and Ari waited anxiously at Oma's house for the Scamanders to arrive. Once they came in, Oma didn't beat around the bush.

"Do you know our family's history?" she asked Tina after introducing everyone.

"Not at all," Tina said. "My parents died when I was young, but as we have the same last name, it makes sense that we may be related."

"We are related," Oma told her. "Are you familiar with the Torah?"

"What's that?" Tina asked.

"Are you familiar with the bible?" Oma tried again.

"A bit," Tina told her. "I know that they don't think to highly of magic."

"There was once a king named Shaul," Oma began the story, "although the Christian bible calls him Saul. He was the first king of the Jewish people in Israel, and while the bible itself doesn't discuss him killing all witches and wizards, it does talk about the one time he went to a witch to use her services."

"When Shaul asked the witch if she could help him, her reply was 'do you want Shaul to kill me too?' That is how we know that Shaul killed all the magical people he was able to find in Israel."

"The one witch, who was left alive, married a muggle and had two kids, both magical. The older one also married a muggle, while the second child married the child of the first child. Since then, they made sure to document the only magical line amongst the Jewish people."

"For thousands of years, our family kept to themselves. They all lived together, and only married others in the family, since they feared they would be killed if discovered. When the Romans conquered Israel, they were sent to Germany, where they continued to live together in a big gold house. When last names became the norm, they picked the name Goldstein since the house was made of gold stone."

"In 1850, the first of the Goldsteins moved to America. Every generation after that, another family moved, until 1938, when everyone fled for their lives except for me, my husband, my parents, and my in-laws. The book that kept track of all the descendants of that one remaining witch, went to America in 1938, however, I saw it beforehand and remember when you got married. I would have forgotten if not for your husband's book, but as our only magical relatives in Europe, I felt it's important to contact you in case war is on the horizon."

"Why would you suspect war?" Tina asked curiously.

"According to Professor Dumbledore, a boy who died in Hogwarts this year was murdered by you-know-who, and he is back," Oma explained. "The ministry insists it's not true, but most communities in Europe didn't believe the holocaust would really happen either. If it turns out not to be true, I'll be very happy. Meanwhile, I put protective spells over some muggle neighborhoods. I know I will have to do more, but Ari will be going back to Hogwarts in September, and I feel it is important for him to know every possible safe location if he's being attacked. He is quite experienced with the floo, knows how to fly, and can summon the knight bus. He obviously knows where he could go in Glasgow that's safe, and he has muggle relatives in Liverpool, but I feel he should know as many safe houses as possible. I was wondering if you mind being on the list in case Ari can't get to Glasgow, Liverpool, Hogsmeade, or Diagon Alley."

"I believe anything Dumbledore says," Newt said generously. "While I do think Hogwarts is safe, if you ever need to escape, and no other places are reachable, feel free to come to me."

They made small talk over tea for a while after that, and then the Scamanders left.

Oma told Ari that if any students form a society to train to fight the dark wizard, he should join. She complained that Ari's father was too big of a chicken to take part in any action ever.

Ari asked questions about the last war. Tatti stayed in the muggle community and refused to get involved, but Oma and Opa put protective spells around muggle areas. There were still many casualties, both muggle and magical, as they weren't able to get to every area and instead focused on Jewish areas. Since Tatti didn't make friends in school, they had no connections to the magical world. Oma hoped that Ari was a lot braver than his father.

Oma decided that Ari needs to be familiar with more methods of traveling. They spent a whole day riding the trains, discussing which stops were near magical areas and which stops were near Jewish areas. Oma also wanted to teach Ari defensive spells, but Tatti said that underage wizards are not allowed to do magic outside of school. Of course, Ari kept Michael and Terry up to date on everything going on in his life. After all, they had to be prepared for when school starts again in September.


	24. The New Professor

**AN: According to Harry Potter Wiki, September 1** **st** **was a Sunday, however, according to the 1995 calendar, September 1** **st** **was a Friday. As Hogwarts always starts on September 1** **st** **, I'm assuming that the classes that were scheduled for the day after the Hogwarts Express were actually scheduled for Monday, as there are no classes on weekends. If anyone can find a source for me that says that the Hogwarts Express traveled on the 3** **rd** **that year, so that students will arrive on Sunday instead, please let me know, and I will change this chapter. The book explicitly states that term starts 1 September, and that the day after the feast was Monday, but I refuse to lie about the actual calendar.**

On Thursday, 31 August, Ari finally received his booklist. He was surprised and disappointed to see a prefect badge enclosed. Ari didn't know how he could ride the Hogwarts Express and do his prefect duties if he had to be home for Shabbos. He flood Professor Flitwick who informed Dumbledore, and Ari was given a portkey for shortly before Shabbos starts. He also couldn't believe he was given one day's notice to buy two books, but in the magical world, going to and from stores didn't take long, so he got his books on time.

On 1 September, Ari grudgingly made his way to the prefects' carriage. He knew he would have to receive instructions from the head boy and girl and that he would have to patrol the corridors occasionally.

Ari sat down next to Ernie, relieved there was at least one boy he knew who was prefect. Padma looked at him when she came to the carriage before sitting next to Hannah. The prefects' meeting took close to an hour. While all the other prefects bought food off the trolley, Ari unpacked his own food as usual. The prefects were introduced to each other before hearing about their responsibilities. Ari recognized a Slytherin prefect as the one who said he doesn't associate with Ari's kind back in first year. They were told that they have to patrol the corridors occasionally and that they should give detention to kids who misbehave. They were also told to supervise the station when they arrive at Hogsmeade. They were also told they have to show the first years how to get to the common room.

"I'll be leaving before that," Ari told the head boy and girl.

"Right," the head boy said. "You have to go home for your Sabbath. Professor McGonagall told us."

"And Hogwarts allows that?" Draco asked incredulously. "I don't know what this school is coming to, letting students go home for muggle reasons."

"What does muggle have to do with anything?" Ari asked.

"Aren't you a muggle born?" Draco challenged.

"Actually, I'm not," Ari told him. "My family could trace themselves back to the days of King Saul thousands of years ago."

"So how come I never heard of any magical Goldsteins?" Draco wanted to know.

"Who did Newt Scamander marry?" Ari asked.

"How am I supposed to know that? He's not related to me," Draco said.

"He married my cousin, Tina Goldstein," Ari said cheerfully.

Draco didn't say anything else about Ari's family.

Ari joined Michael and Terry after the prefect meeting. They both made fun of him for being prefect and asked what he's doing about Shabbos. Ari showed them the portkey and said he will be going home without having to leave the train.

That night, Ari's grandmother asked about prefect responsibilities. She was disappointed that they weren't going to be taking a stronger role in defending the school, but Ari reminded her that professors were there for a reason. Oma admitted that after the holocaust, there are very few not Jewish people who she trusts. After all, many people who seemed to be friendly with Jews before the war had no trouble turning in their former friends to the Nazis once the holocaust started.

Ari wondered if he missed anything interesting during the feast. He also wondered what the new defense teacher was like. Mostly, he wondered how many people believed that the dark wizard was back, and if anyone had any plans on fighting.

When classes began on Monday, many teachers found it necessary to remind them about the OWLs they were taking at the end of the year. Ari was eager to find out how the new defense professor was and he was greatly disappointed.

Umbridge treated them as if they were five-years-old. Ari refused to say "Good morning Professor Umbridge" with his class. He didn't like being told what to do. When asked if everyone has their book, Ari once again refused to join in the chorus.

After reading the chapter that was assigned, Terry raised his hand and waited to get called on.

"Did you have a question about the chapter?" Umbridge asked.

"I finished the chapter," Terry said, "but I was wondering if we'll be learning to use defensive spells."

"You're not going to be attacked during class," Umbridge told him.

Padma raised her hand.

"Aren't we going to have to perform some spells on our OWLs?" she asked. "As you mentioned earlier, our previous teachers did not do a good job teaching us what we need to know. If we want to pass, we will have to learn five years of defensive spells this year."

"As long as you study the theory hard enough, there is no reason you should not be able to perform the spells during the exam," Umbridge said.

Ari raised his hand.

"How come it doesn't work that way for Charms and Transfiguration?" he asked. "I always know the theory well, but I have never mastered a spell on the first try."

"You probably don't know the theory as well as you think," Umbridge insisted.

"So the first time we will do the spells is on the exam?" Padma asked.

"As long as you study the theory, you should be fine," Umbridge repeated.

Ari raised his hand again.

"We only have three more years to learn whatever magic we will know for the rest of our lives," Ari said. "What if there's another war? If we don't learn defensive spells now, when will we?"

"Are you expecting a war?" Umbridge asked suspiciously.

"My grandparents and great grandparents weren't expecting a war," Ari reasoned, "and they found themselves in the middle of one. Even if there is no war for 100 years, I'm expecting to live a long life. In a hundred years, I should have children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren who I will need to protect. If I don't learn how now, when will I?"

"We have a ministry who is perfectly capable of protecting everyone," Umbridge reassured him.

"While that may be the case now," Ari said, "the people working for the ministry won't live forever. At some point, we will need to replace them. If we don't learn how to defend people, how can we possibly expect to be a ministry that protects magical Britain?"

"Those working for the ministry receive additional training when they start their jobs," Umbridge told him.

"But for those of us who don't plan on working for the ministry, these three years are the only years we have to learn," Ari tried again. "While I'm sure the ministry did great things, people can't be in more than one place at once. The ministry couldn't protect everyone in the last war. We were lucky that Potter somehow defeated you-know-who. The ministry couldn't protect the deaths of his parents and others who died in that war."

"We're not expecting another war," Umbridge said again.

"I'm expecting to live long," Ari responded.

"What job do you expect to have when you graduate?" Umbridge tried another approach.

"I would like to be a rugby player," Ari said.

"What's that?" Umbridge asked sweetly.

"Rugby is the best sport ever!" Ari told her enthusiastically. "It's a muggle sport-"

"Let's not waste class time discussing muggle sports," Umbridge told him. "If you expect to work in the muggle world, you have nobody but yourself to blame if you're not protected."

Ari rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He wasn't too impressed with his new teacher.


	25. Dumbledore's Army

Fifth year classes were difficult. Ari was eager to make his snails vanish in Transfiguration, but he didn't really want to get close enough to the table to do the spell. He tried to convince himself that snails were a lot less scary than death eaters and forced himself to go closer than he was comfortable with.

Ari was eager to go home for Shabbos. He told his family what an idiot Umbridge is. He explained that she works for the ministry and wants to make sure nobody believes that the rasha was back.

On Monday morning, Ari found out that Umbridge was the high inquisitor. The whole Ravenclaw table was talking about what that could mean. Ari told them about the Spanish Inquisition and the many Jews who were tortured and killed. While some people looked worried, others seemed to think that Umbridge may do a good job inspecting the teachers.

Transfiguration was spooky, as now the class had to vanish mice. Ari wondered if anyone at Hogwarts ever got bitten by a mouse.

Ari realized with frustration that he wasn't learning anything in defense this year. He didn't think there was a solution until the beginning of October.

Everyone was talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. Once again Ari didn't care as it was on Shabbos and didn't concern him. That changed on Monday night when Michael called Terry and Ari upstairs to tell them something important.

"I asked Ginny to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend," Michael started.

"You know I don't care," Ari interrupted.

"You will care when you hear what I have to say," Michael reprimanded.

"Whatever," Ari said.

"Ginny told me that Hermione convinced Harry to teach people defense. They're meeting at Hog's Head on Saturday," Michael told them.

"My grandmother said I should join any defense group," Ari said, "But it's on Shabbos so I don't know what to do."

Ari told his family about the defense group when he was home for Yom Kippur. His grandmother had the perfect solution for going home for Shabbos and attending the meeting. He should floo home as usual, and from the house, they will floo to Hog's Head, where they will book 2 rooms for Shabbos.

Ari felt funny spending Shabbos at the Hog's Head. Mommy and Oma packed up food for Shabbos, but there would be no cholent as there was no electricity for any muggle cooking devices. All the food for Shabbos would be cold. There was also no shul, something that Ari felt guilty about. He and his father davened in their room. They stayed in the room until Hogwarts students started coming on Shabbos morning.

Ari stepped out of Hogs Head wearing his Shabbos suit and shirt. His father and grandmother were both sitting at a table near the window wearing hoods so they won't be recognized.

Ari quickly found Michael and Terry and they walked into Hog's Head together. A redhead ordered butterbeers for everyone, but Ari didn't take one since they're not kosher. He also didn't pay any money as it was Shabbos.

Hermione started her speech and when she said that nobody could call what Umbridge is teaching Defense Against Dark Arts, Ari couldn't resist saying, "Hear, hear." He was getting quite frustrated with the school's poor defense staff.

Hermione continued talking but was interrupted by Susan asking if it's true that Harry could produce a patronus. Terry asked about the basilisk that Harry killed with Gryffindor's sword. Neville brought up the philosopher's stone in first year, and Cho mentioned the tournament. Michael was impressed with the way Harry outflew a dragon. Susan mentioned that Harry fought off dementors independently. Hermione explained that Umbridge is concerned that Dumbledore will form an army using students from the school and that's why they're not learning defense. She's scared Dumbledore is trying to take over the ministry.

Ari cracked up when Ginny imitated Umbridge. He suddenly understood why Michael liked her, at least as a friend.

Hermione wanted everyone to sign a parchment, agreeing not to tell anyone about their club. Ari whispered to Michael that he can't sign since its Shabbos. Michael said he'll deal with it, and while passing the parchment and quill to Ari, he slipped his hand between Ari's and did a good impression of Ari's signature. Ari and his friends walked out, but after the place emptied, they went back upstairs with Ari's father and grandmother.

"I'm pretty sure that parchment you were supposed to have signed was hexed," Oma said. "Hermione seems like a smart girl who won't take chances of anyone telling on this club. Even though you didn't sign, you allowed Michael to be your representative. Therefore, you better not tell us anything about this club."

Ari agreed.

"You're also not due back at Hogwarts until Tuesday night since Sukkos starts tomorrow night," Oma reminded him. "If anything is happening over the next few days for your group, you need to be informed. As it will be yom tov, not Shabbos, someone can always apparate you over."

"There's no apparition in Hogwarts," Ari told her.

"Well, I could take you to the gates at least," Oma said.

"The gates are kept locked," Ari responded. "There's no way to get in without permission."

"But you're able to floo back and forth," Oma tried again.

"Professor Flitwick unlocks the floo in his office whenever I need to come home or get back," Ari explained.

"Maybe one of you could convince Professor Flitwick to unlock it if Ari is needed," Oma told Michael and Terry. "Of course, you can't tell him why, but you should be able to think of something. The only problems would be that Ari needs to know what's happening, and he can't put floo powder in the fire on yom tov."

"I could come in and fetch him," Michael offered, "while Terry gets Flitwick to unlock the floo to let us through."

They all agreed. The rest of Shabbos passed quietly.

Ari was getting ready for shul on the first day of sukkos when he saw Michael's head in the fire.

"They banned the club!" Michael called. "Come quickly so we can ask Harry what to do."

Ari followed Michael through the fire where Terry and Professor Flitwick were engaged in a serious discussion on how to protect a fireplace. Michael and Ari snuck out of the office unnoticed, and waited impatiently for Terry.

"I now know the passwords for Flitwick's floo!" Terry told them excitedly. "I pretended to be interested in knowing how to protect the floo in my own house. Professor Flitwick showed me how to set a password and remove it. He also showed me the enchantments on the school's network that doesn't allow anyone to leave or enter the school. When I asked how Anthony goes home for Shabbos, he showed me how to bypass it! I'm sure that by next week the latest, Flitwick will change his passwords, so we need to be quick."

Michael and Terry led Ari into the great hall where they started walking toward the Gryffindor table, Ari being careful not to be seen by staff.

"Not here!" Harry mouthed. They went to the Ravenclaw table. Ginny came over and told them that Harry will try to figure something out, but defense is still on.

Terry and Michael helped Ari sneak back through the floo. Michael stood guard outside Flitwick's office while Terry opened the floo for Ari to get him home.

When Ari came back on Wednesday, it was to a lot of new material that he missed with the constant yamim tovim.

When Professor Flitwick taught silencing charms, Ari was still thinking about defense.

"Wouldn't a silencing charm be effective for keeping people from hexing you?" Ari asked.

"Many adult wizards are able to hex silently," Flitwick told him, "But for those who don't, it's a good defense."

That didn't make it easier for Ari as they were doing the spell on frogs and birds. Ari kept running away from his frog, to the amusement of his classmates.

Harry managed to get a message to Ari, Terry and Michael telling them to meet him at night on the 7th floor. The first thing they did at the meeting was vote for a leader, but of course everyone voted for Harry. Next was coming up with a name for the group. Everyone liked Ginny's idea of Dumbledore's Army. Next, they practiced disarming each other. Ari didn't really get much practice, as he partnered with Zacharias Smith, an annoying boy who kept arguing with Harry, and a pair of redhead twins kept disarming Smith for him. Ari noticed that Michael wasn't doing much either, and that Terry seemed to be good at it, so he figured they could get in some practice later.

Over the next few weeks, Ari mastered the disarming charm, impediment jinx, and reductor curse. Ari was relieved that he was finally learning Defense Against Dark Arts.


	26. More Educational Decrees

When Ari arrived back at Hogwarts after the first Shabbos in November, he was surprised to see Umbridge waiting by the fire for him.

"There is a new educational decree," Umbridge said smugly. "The high inquisitor has the authority to decide all punishments, sanctions, and removal of privileges. Can you tell me why you have the privilege of going home every weekend?"

"I'm a religious Jew," Ari said. "It has been Hogwarts tradition for many years to accommodate people of all religions. My father also floo'd home every week. I would be unable to observe Shabbos properly here, so it is necessary to go home."

"Your father also went home?" Umbridge asked suspiciously. "What house was he in?"

"Hufflepuff," Ari answered.

"What about your mother?" Umbridge asked.

"She's a muggle," Ari told her.

"So your father broke the statute of secrecy to marry a muggle?" Umbridge accused.

"Not at all," Ari said. "According to wizarding law, a witch or wizard is allowed to marry a muggle but shouldn't tell the muggle about magic until it is absolutely necessary. The statute of secrecy does not apply to a spouse. Therefore, my father didn't break it."

"What about your father's parents?" Umbridge asked.

"What about them?" Ari repeated.

"What houses were they in?" she clarified.

"They were both born in Germany," Ari explained. "By the time they came to Britain, they were too old for Hogwarts."

"Are they magical?" Umbridge asked.

"Yes," Ari said. "I believed I mentioned in the first class that they were forced to use defensive magic during the war."

"You did say that," Umbridge agreed. "If you want to keep the privilege of going home for Shabbos, you will need to follow all school rules."

"I already do," Ari said. "I'm a prefect."

"You will need to make sure you don't interrupt in class to ask questions or question a teacher's teaching style," Umbridge continued.

"Ok," Ari said.

"If you hear anybody say that you-know-who is back, you will tell me immediately," Umbridge added.

"Dumbledore mentioned it at the end of the year feast," Ari said, knowing that Umbridge knew about that, but not willing to get anyone in trouble.

"If you hear any more mention of it," Umbridge said, "also, if you hear anything about a group that Potter is starting, let me know."

"I thought all groups were banned," Ari said innocently.

"Potter has not been known to follow rules," Umbridge said.

"As a prefect, I would not be his first choice in who to confide in if he does break rules," Ari pointed out.

When he finally returned to the common room, his hatred of Umbridge was higher than he thought was possible. Of course, Ari told Michael and Terry about the new decree. Michael wasn't concerned, as like Ari, he never really got in trouble. Terry did sometimes, but he wasn't concerned.

"The only one I get in trouble with is Binns," Terry pointed out. "He doesn't know my name, and he always says 'Go to the headmaster's office.' He probably doesn't even know Dumbledore's name. There's no way he'll send me to Umbridge."

In December, there was another prefects' meeting. Ari was told that prefects have to supervise decorating the castle, watch first and second years during their breaks, and patrol the corridors. Ari asked if he could have extra shifts with the first and second years instead of decorating the castle since he doesn't celebrate x-mas.

During the last DA meeting before the holidays, they practiced the impediment jinx and stunning. Ari was relieved that he was able to do both.

Ari was happy to head home for the holidays. He made sure to spend time with his muggle friends while he can. When he came back to school, he asked Harry when the next DA meeting will be. He was surprised that Harry took remedial potions, but figured that nobody could be good at everything.

Ari was concerned when he read the story about the death eaters who escaped Azkaban. He never bought the Daily Prophet, but it was passed around the Ravenclaw table.

The next educational decree stated that teachers can't give students information not related to their subject. Ari thought that was ridiculous because if you try hard enough, you can connect any two topics. He decided to give it a try. He started with Professor Vector, since he was good at Arithmancy.

"Is there anything that can be found in the names of the escaped death eaters that would give a clue as to where they are hiding?" Ari asked.

"I would have you figure out all the formulas," Vector answered, "but I can't risk Umbridge coming in during the lesson."

"But its Arithmancy," Ari protested.

"It is," Vector agreed, "but I was told you will lose the privilege of going home for Shabbos if you interrupt class."

Ari decided to try again at Ancient Runes.

"What runes are there at Azkaban?" he asked innocently.

Professor Babbling did not fall for it.

"We don't study Azkaban this year," she said. "If you go for auror training, you may find out more about it."

He tried again during Charms.

"What charms are in place at Azkaban to prevent prisoners from escaping?" he asked.

"There are anti apparition charms," Professor Flitwick said, "but Azkaban doesn't only rely on charms for protection, and I can't discuss the other protections."

Ari tried again during Potions.

"Could a prisoner in Azkaban use polyjuice potion to turn into a dementor?" he asked.

"Polyjuice potion only works on wizards," Snape answered. "Did you finish your potion yet?"

He tried again in Defense.

"How can we defend ourselves if one of the es-" he started.

"Are you planning on staying here for your Sabbath?" Umbridge interrupted in that disgusting sweet voice.

Ari didn't bring it up again. He was looking forward to telling his parents that freedom of speech no longer exists in Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's Army continued to have many meetings. Ari was happy to learn the shield charm.

Ari was surprised that there was a Hogsmeade visit on a Wednesday. He was happy to be able to go with his friends. All the shops had posters with the escaped death eaters. Ari watched his friends pig out after going to Honeydukes and drink butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks. He wondered again why he came and wasn't disappointed when it was time to head back to school.


	27. Career Advice

Two weeks after the Hogsmeade trip, there was an article in The Quibbler giving all the details of Voldermort's return. Ari only found out about it because of the new educational decree banning The Quibbler. Some Ravenclaws figured out how to bewitch the Quibbler pages to look like pages of a textbook and shared it with the school. Ari suddenly realized he had a solution to the boredom that was Defense Against Dark Arts. All he has to do is bewitch a muggle novel to look like his textbook, and he can read whatever he wants in class.

Not long afterwards, Professor Trelawney was fired. Ari didn't really know her as he never took Divination, and most of the Ravenclaws weren't too impressed with her, but he still felt sorry for the woman who was out of a job. Ari was shocked that the new Divination teacher was a centaur.

The DA was starting to work on Patronuses. It wasn't easy, but those who mastered it were very proud of themselves. Ari was horrified when a house elf interrupted a meeting to say that Umbridge was coming. He ran with the others, hoping not to get caught.

The next day, all anybody would talk about was how Dumbledore took the blame for the DA and hexed five people to escape. Umbridge declared herself the new headmistress, but the headmaster's office wouldn't let her in.

Umbridge took her power to her head. She appointed a bunch of idiot Slytherins to be the inquisitional squad, and they were deducting points from all houses besides their own.

Ari was very impressed when he saw fireworks all over the school. Umbridge spent the whole afternoon running around trying to get rid of them.

When Ari was home for Pesach, he told his family what the curse was on the parchment. He explained that a girl a year older than him has the word sneak written across her face. Oma was disappointed that the DA was no more, while Tatti was relieved that Ari was no longer taking part in anything dangerous. Mommy found the fireworks story to be hilarious and suggested some pranks Ari could pull on Umbridge, but Tatti said that if he does, he won't be going home for Shabbos anymore.

"That's only if you get caught," Mommy said cheerfully. "Besides, if a whole class does something together, the teacher won't know who to blame."

"Don't give him ideas," Tatti said quietly. Mommy dropped it for the time being.

After Pesach, Ari had to meet with Professor Flitwick to discuss career options.

"Do you know what you would like to do in the future?" Flitwick asked.

"I would like to become a professional rugby player," Ari told him.

"I will admit that I'm not so familiar with muggle sports," Flitwick confessed. "What do you need to become a rugby player?"

"It's easier if you're scouted," Ari told him, "but Hogwarts doesn't have a rugby team so I was never scouted. I could try to join the academy after I graduate. Otherwise, I'll just have to join a lower club and hope to do well enough to move up."

"Do you have other options?" Flitwick asked.

"I could become a professional football player," Ari suggested.

"How do you do that?" Flitwick asked.

"I would say I have about a .1% of becoming a professional football player," Ari told him.

"Anything else?" Flitwick asked.

"I could become a basketball player," Ari said optimistically.

"Anything not sports related?" Flitwick tried again.

"I suppose I could drive a bus," Ari suggested.

"Do you have any interest in a magical career?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"No," Ari said. "I'm going to be rejoining the muggle world as soon as I graduate, so a magical career isn't an option."

"Why can't you stay in the magical community?" Flitwick wanted to know.

"I will end up marrying a muggle," Ari explained, "so I can't be living in a magical area."

"Why can't you marry a witch?" was the next question.

"There are only two Jewish witches in Europe," Ari told his professor. "One is my grandmother and the other one is already married with grandchildren around my age. The only way I can stay in this country and marry a Jew is by marrying a muggle."

"Do you know what NEWTS you will take next year?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Defense against Dark Arts," Ari said confidently.

"What else?" Flitwick asked.

"My father said NEWT classes are hard and give lots of work," Ari offered weakly.

"Are you having a hard time this year?" Flitwick wanted to know.

"No, I do my homework as soon as it's assigned, usually during my next class," Ari said. "If I can't do it in class, I do it the next break. Sometimes I do other people's homework too if I have extra time."

"You and your father are very different," Professor Flitwick said.

"My grandmother says the same thing," Ari said. "But I get my love of sports from my father."

"You should easily be able to handle at least three courses," Professor Flitwick told him.

"Fine," Ari conceded. "I'll take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

Ari left his meeting, leaving a very confused professor behind.


	28. OWLs

After Ari's career advice session, school suddenly got very interesting. It began when the Weasley twins turned the entire entrance hall into a swamp. Umbridge sent Filch to get the approval for whipping, but when he came back, Fred and George summoned their brooms and flew away, telling everyone the address of their store and they get a discount if the products are being used on Umbridge.

Suddenly, dung bombs and stink pellets were all over the school. Ari got used to walking around with a bubble head charm. People were using skiving snack boxes to get out of class. Ari couldn't since they weren't kosher, but he remembered one thing his mother said that was useful in that situation. He told his whole class about it, and whenever Umbridge sent one student out to go to the hospital wing, the whole class stood up and said, "United we stand, united we fall. Out goes one, out goes all," and they all walked out. They got detention for it, but so did other entire classes, so nobody took it seriously.

Ari remembered a story his mother told him about when they ended up with a teacher in tears, and it wasn't even their fault. A troublemaker from the class next door made a hole in the wall between the classrooms and kept the whole class entertained by dropping small pieces of paper through the hole during class. The teacher didn't know why everyone was laughing and ended up leaving the room in tears.

Ari decided to try a magical version of that prank. During a free period, he stood outside the defense classroom. When Umbridge wasn't looking, he blasted a small hole in the wall. He enchanted some parchments to go through the hole and enlarge themselves when they got to the front of the room. The first parchment read "Toad Umbridge at your service". Ari heard the whole class laugh and Umbridge ask what they're laughing at. He quickly sent in another parchment which said, "It's funny that an idiot like you became professor." He managed to send in a few more notes before Umbridge caught on and went to check the corridor to see who was there. Ari just managed to hide on time. When Umbridge came close to his hiding place, he whispered a stunning hex and watched her fall. He casually made his way to his next class as if nothing happened.

With the OWLs approaching, most people were busy studying. Ari didn't bother; he had better ways to waste his time.

"How many hours do you do a day?" Ernie asked Ari in Potions.

"What are you talking about?" Ari asked curiously.

"Revising for OWLs!" Ernie told him, shocked that he wasn't thinking about it.

"I don't study," Ari explained. "Either you know something or you don't. If I know it, there's no reason to study, since I know it already. If I don't know it, studying won't help. Why bother?"

Some people were impressed with Ari's attitude but others were extremely bothered by it.

"How did he end up in Ravenclaw?" he heard someone whisper.

The first exam was Charms. Ari easily answered all the questions in the theory exam. His problem was with the practical.

Ari was supposed to turn a rat orange. He slowly approached the table but backed up and screamed when the rat moved. He quickly vanished his rat and turned back to the examiner. The examiner told him to try again.

"I think I'll pass," Ari told him. "I don't really like animals."

"I'm not so sure you'll pass," the examiner retorted.

"If I get an O on the theory and a D on the practical that should average to an A" Ari reasoned.

He did the charms that did not involve animals, and left as soon as he was done.

The next day was Transfiguration. Once again, the written exam was easy and the practical involved animals. Ari vanished whatever animal he was given regardless of what was supposed to be done with it. He was happy when he done.

Ari was surprised that he didn't remember everything in Herbology. He figured it's because it's not an important subject and Professor Sprout never really lectured them the way McGonagall and Flitwick did.

Defense Against Dark Arts was another easy test. Ari felt that Harry had them all prepared to do well. He walked out of the practical very confidently, knowing he did well.

Friday was Ancient Runes. Ari remembered most of the runes, so it wasn't too difficult. He was happy to go home for Shabbos, but knew that he had another week of tests.

Monday as Potions, which Ari thought was incredibly easy. On Tuesday, Ari had a day off and kept himself entertained watching everyone else study. Wednesday was Astronomy and Arithmancy. It was Wednesday night when things got interesting.

Ari was half asleep as he looked through his telescope and marked things on his parchment. Towards the end of the exam, there was some drama at the groundkeeper's hut. Ari vaguely remembered the giant who took them in boats during their first year. He had nothing to do with Hagrid since then, although he did hear rumors last year that he was actually a half giant. He watched through his telescope as a bunch of aurors tried to stun Hagrid before McGonagall came to his defense. He was horrified when McGonagall took five stunners to the chest and watched Hagrid singlehandedly take on all the aurors.

After the exam, some people stayed up in the common room to discuss what happened. Ari was tired and wanted to sleep, so he stayed out of the conversations.

The next day was History of Magic. Ari easily answered whichever questions he knew and was surprised when Harry ended up on the floor with what looked like a seizure.

On Friday, everyone was talking about how Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville spent the night at the ministry of magic, fighting death eaters. Ari wondered why the rest of Dumbledore's Army wasn't called in to join, but happy to see that Dumbledore was back.


	29. Summer of War

Ari was happy to go home on Friday and told his family that there was some sort of battle at the ministry where six members of the DA fought death eaters. His parents were naturally concerned while his grandmother wondered why he didn't go with them.

Sunday's paper brought the news that you-know-who is back. It was all anyone would talk about for the rest of the term.

Ari thought it was very entertaining when Peeves chased Umbridge out of the school. He knew that nobody would miss her.

Ari sat on the Hogwarts Express with Terry, Ernie, Justin, and two Hufflepuff girls. Michael didn't want to join them as he was sitting with a girl instead. When they saw Malfoy start up with Harry, they all ran out and hexed him and his cronies. Ari ate some of his food from home as his friends congratulated each other on a job well done.

Ari was happy to go home. Michael managed to catch up with Ari and Terry at the station to remind them to write.

During the summer, it was obvious that the wizarding world was at war. Ari mourned with his family for the many who lost their lives when a bridge snapped in half. Oma regretted not putting up protective spells in West Country, but she didn't know where the death eaters would attack. It was also disappointing to hear that Amelia Bones and Emmaline Vance were murdered, although at least they knew what was happening at the time. It was a relief when Fudge was forced out of office.

The Goldsteins took out a subscription to the Daily Prophet in order to keep up with the war. They also got a pamphlet about protecting your home and family. Oma made Ari show her his shield charm and tried teaching him a disillusionment charm. Tatti told her that he's still underage, but Oma wasn't concerned.

Ari and his friends wondered what their next defense teacher would be like. They were all planning on taking the NEWT for defense and hoped they would have a competent teacher.

A few weeks into the summer, Ari received his OWL scores. He was relieved to see he passed everything and shared the good news with his family.

"What did you get?" Tatti asked eagerly.

"O in Arithmancy and Potions, E in Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic, and A in Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, and Transfiguration," Ari reported.

"So you got mostly As," Tatti commented.

"What do the letters mean?" Mommy asked.

"O is outstanding, E is exceeds expectations, A is acceptable, P is poor, D is dreadful, and T is troll," Ari told her.

"How come you only got A in Herbology?" Mommy asked curiously. "You always liked gardening."

"I didn't study," Ari told her, "so I forgot names and properties of some of the plants."

"I thought you would have done better," Tatti told him.

"Why?" Ari asked. "How did you do on your OWLs?"

"We're talking about you now, not me," Tatti said.

"In other words, you didn't do so well," Mommy teased.

"It was a long time ago," Tatti said. "I don't remember my marks."

"Well then, you can't complain about my Herbology mark if I did better than you," Ari said cheerfully.

"I think I got an E in Herbology," Tatti said.

"Was that your only E?" Ari asked.

"No, I also got an E in defense," Tatti said.

"Did you get any Os?" Ari asked next.

"I don't remember," Tatti told him.

"In other words, no," Ari corrected.

"Did you pass everything else?" Ari continued.

"It doesn't matter," Tatti said, "It's over and done with."

"I guess not," Mommy told Ari.

The Goldsteins continued following the news for progress on the war. The dementor attacks sounded scary and the random deaths and disappearances reminded them not to take their safety for granted.

When Ari got his school list, he met up with Michael and Terry to do school shopping. None of their parents wanted them to be alone, so all three fathers tagged along. They got their robes and books before checking out the Weasleys' new store.

Ari quickly fell in love with the reusable hangman. He also bought shield cloaks, hats, and gloves for family.

Ari reluctantly went back to school on September 1st. He felt safer at home, but knew that as a prefect, he had no choice but to make the train. He joined the other prefects in the prefect carriage for a repeat of last year's meeting.

"Are you doing the DA again?" Ari quietly asked Hermione.

"Hopefully, we'll have a competent teacher this year," Hermione told him. "We only did it because Umbridge wasn't teaching."

"If you start it again, let me know," Ari said eagerly. He sat with Ernie and wondered why Malfoy missed the meeting.

Eventually, Ari was able to join Michael and Terry for the rest of the ride. When Ari took out his lunch, the others looked envious as the lunch trolley was late, so Ari shared his roll with them. They discussed what was happening with the war and hoped that school would be safe this year. Ari mentioned that Hermione was not continuing the DA if this year's professor is competent, so that led into a discussion about who would make a good professor. After a while, Ari had to leave his friends to supervise the platform.


	30. NEWT student

Ari sat with his fellow Ravenclaws in the great hall and watched the sorting. When it was finally time to eat, he unpacked his food and had just finished eating when Harry walked in, still in muggle clothes, with his face covered in blood.

"What do you think happened to him?" Terry whispered.

"I don't know," Ari whispered back, "But it must have happened on the train, or he would have had time to change."

When Dumbledore stood up for his speech, it was obvious that something happened to his hand. Everyone tried to guess what is was, but Dumbledore continued his speech as though it was nothing serious. They were all surprised to hear that Slughorn was teaching Potions and Snape was teaching Defense. The news brought on a discussion about what type of defense teacher Snape would be, when Dumbledore interrupted to continue his speech. Ari showed the first years how to get to their tower and explained about the riddle.

The next morning after breakfast, Professor Flitwick had to confirm that they all passed the classes they wanted to take for NEWTs.

"Are you sure you don't want to take Potions?" Flitwick asked Ari. "Not many people get an O in Potions."

"I'm going to muggle yeshiva after I graduate," Ari said. "I need all my free periods to study gemara and chumash so I can keep up with those who spent the whole secondary school in muggle yeshiva."

"If you're sure about that," Flitwick said, signing off on Ari's three classes.

When Ari saw how much homework he got for Ancient Runes, he was happy he only signed up for 3 classes. He realized that Snape won't let him do his Runes homework during class, and had fun trying to hex Michael. He and Michael cheated, whispering their hexes and shield charms, as neither one had any experience in nonverbal spells. Arithmancy was interesting as usual, and Ari was happy to have the afternoon off.

Ari spent the whole afternoon doing his homework. He was happy not to be joining Terry and Michael for Potions as every teacher assigned lots of work. At Dinner, Ari happily told Terry and Michael that he finished his homework.

Ari quickly settled into a routine. During free periods, he first did all his homework and made up work he missed over yom tov. If it was complete, he went over the parsha of the week. If he finished that, he learned gemara. He hoped he would still be considered the best learner after Hogwarts.

Terry and Michael were constantly complaining about having to do nonverbal spells in Transfiguration and Charms. Ari only had to worry about it in defense, but it was still challenging.

In October, Ari missed the first Hogsmeade trip. When he came back to school after Shabbos, he found out that a Gryffindor girl was cursed and is in the hospital wing. On Monday, she was transferred to Saint Mungos.

The next two months passed quickly. Ari usually managed to finish his homework Monday afternoon and he had Tuesday morning to do the parsha. He was proud of himself for keeping up with his learning despite being in a not Jewish environment.

In December, the castle was covered in mistletoe. Ari never knew anything about mistletoe and was surprised to hear that the practice was to kiss whoever was under it with you. Ari made sure to stay away from the mistletoe and any unfamiliar plant, not knowing if there was anything else he should know about.

Ari was happy to go home for the Holidays. The whole mistletoe business was starting to freak him out. He knew he would never understand his schoolmates.

Ari was relieved that everyone returned to school by floo. It made no sense to travel from London if he's already in Scotland. He wondered why he couldn't always use the floo.

After the break, everyone was talking about apparition lessons. Ari was disappointed to find out that they were on Shabbos and he wouldn't be able to participate. When he told his family, Oma offered to teach him, but Tatti reminded her that it's illegal.

In March, Ron Weasley was poisoned. It was a reminder that the war going on outside of school still affected those in Hogwart's safe environment, or at least, that's what Oma said when Ari told her.

When Ari returned to school after the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff quidditch match, it was to the news that Harry had once again managed to get injured during a game. Ari no longer took these reports seriously, as it was happening almost every year.

Ari was tempted to join the many that were going for extra apparition lessons in Hogsmeade, but as he never took a single lesson, he knew he couldn't start now. It would have been nice to leave school for a Sunday, but as Ari went home every Shabbos, he knew he shouldn't complain. He complained anyway, but it didn't make a difference.

In April, Ari's friends took their apparition tests. Once again, Ari complained about all the classes being on Shabbos.

In May, the news spread through the school that Harry Potter almost killed Draco Malfoy. Ari wondered what the whole story was, but knew he had no way of finding out. He barely had anything to do with Harry this year, as there was no DA.

In June, Dumbledore died. Ari regretted not having his galleon with him when the message got out about death eaters attacking the school, but he saw no reason to keep it with him this year, as the DA stopped.

Dumbledore's funeral was the first not Jewish funeral that Ari went to. Tatti and Oma came too. Ari cried when he heard the merpeople's music. He was surprised that Hagrid carried in Dumbledore's body. He expected the body to already be in a coffin. The man who spoke was incredibly boring which was kind of strange since Dumbledore had an interesting life.

Ari left his family after the funeral. There was no reason to ride the Hogwarts Express this year as many students left early. He wondered what Hogwarts would be like next year without Dumbledore. He hoped it would still be safe.


	31. Oma Boot Camp

"You're of age now," Oma told Ari as soon as he settled in at home for the summer. "Now there are no excuses for not being trained. Let's see how you would do in a duel against me."

Ari did the best he could, but it wasn't long before he was hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Oma lowered him and said, "You still have a lot to learn. How would you block an unforgivable?"

"Either dodge or use an object," Ari said.

"I'll send a harmless green light at you," Oma said. "If it hits you, you're dead. Do what you can to avoid it."

Ari dodged repeatedly as Oma kept sending her green lights, faster and faster. When it was getting to fast to dodge, he pointed his wand at the table and shouted, "Wingardium leviosa!"

"Stop," Oma reprimanded. "Can't you cast silently?"

"I'll try," Ari said. He spent most of the day practicing whatever spells Oma felt like having him do. By the end of the day, Ari felt school was much easier.

"If we would know what the rasha is planning, we could be better prepared," Oma said.

"I have no way of knowing what he's planning," Ari said. "He wouldn't share his plans with me."

"For all we know, he may be kidnapping and killing all your professors next," Oma said. "You don't know who will be teaching you this year."

"I'm only taking three classes," Ari said optimistically. "I think I can put up with that."

"Do you know how to do the confundus charm?" Oma asked. "It could be helpful when making a fast escape."

She practiced with Ari for most of the next day he was back. The next day was spent on healing charms. For a week afterward, Oma had Ari go over and practice everything in _Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts._

"If I would know that Dumbledore's replacement was competent, I wouldn't work you so hard," Oma said when Ari asked if he could take an afternoon off to play ball.

"McGonagall will probably replace him," Ari said. "She's the deputy headmistress."

"There's no way of knowing for sure," Oma told him. "Never assume anything."

The next time they practiced dueling, the two of them managed to demolish the entire living room.

"You're getting there," Oma said as she repaired the damage. "But considering all that's happening, you can't be too prepared. How do you fight a dementor?"

"The patronus charm," Ari said confidently.

"Show me," Oma ordered. Ari did.

"How would you fight inferi?" Oma asked next.

"Fire?" Ari guessed.

"Good," Oma said. "Don't forget anything you ever learn. You never know when you may need it. I also think you should take driving lessons. It will be another method to escape."

The best part about driving lessons was that Ari got away from Oma for an hour at a time. Driving was fun, and he always honked and waved to his muggle friends when he passed them. They were all surprised he was learning to drive already as most yeshivas didn't allow it so young.

Oma continued harassing Ari with her constant training. Ari begged for at least one additional hour off to play games on his family's new computer. Oma hesitantly agreed, as long as it was in the evening, after dinner. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about Ari throwing up during a duel.

Oma taught Ari how to do a disillusionment charm. She felt that was really important to help Ari escape. Ari was starting to feel as if Oma considered every spell to be really important. He practiced flying his broomstick all over the house. He practiced dodging green lights a little too often. He practiced stunning, although his parents didn't enjoy being the targets. He practiced fixing broken items, although he didn't know why that was important.

"You never know when you will need it," Oma was constantly saying.

He practiced the levitating charm and the impedimenta jinx. He practiced the blasting curse, which was really fun. Confringo soon became Ari's favorite. He practiced blocking whatever his grandmother tried on him. He practiced disarming.

"If Harry Potter is your age and he successfully dueled the rasha so many times, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to," Oma said when Ari complained that he needed a break.

Oma had Ari practice cutting hexes. He couldn't imagine any situation where he would specifically want to cut someone, but by now he learned not to argue with his grandmother. She also taught him the fidelius charm, although Ari didn't know why he would want to make a property invisible.

"The Daily Prophet isn't reporting as much as usual," Oma complained. "That means we're probably going to end up with a new minister sooner or later."

Oma made Ari review everything he learned in Runes. This way, he could spend less time on his homework and more time helping others who may need to escape. Ari couldn't believe how carried away Oma was getting, but once again, he bit his tongue and said nothing. She also went through _Hogwarts A History_ and explained all the protections already on the castle.

By the end of July, Ari felt like he went through six years of schooling over the course of one month. He really wished he could tell Oma she was getting carried away. Tatti told her occasionally but whenever he did, she insulted his lack of intelligence. There were many more things that Oma wanted Ari to learn, but Tatti insisted it was illegal to teach him apparition herself and that portkeys were regulated by the government. Unforgivables were obviously out, and Tatti managed to get Oma to agree that as long as the ministry is still standing, she won't break any laws. And so, in July, Oma and Ari were law abiding citizens.


	32. After the Fall of the Ministry

In August, the news broke that Scrimgeour was no longer minister of magic. Oma took that as a sign that the ministry fell to death eaters and was no longer willing to follow the ministry's laws. She had Ari practice his shield charm some more, convinced that he wasn't doing it fast enough to keep death eaters' spells from hitting him. Next, she began working on apparition.

"It's illegal to apparate without a license," Tatti reminded them.

"It's also illegal to kill people," Oma said, "And I don't trust the new minister enough to let Ari take the apparition test at the ministry. Death eaters are taking over, mark my words."

"You don't know that," Tatti said, "Scrimgeour decided to retire. After all, it's hard to be a minister during a war. Who's to say that Thicknesse isn't better?"

"If he's as thick as his name, I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him," Oma said.

It took many tries, but soon Ari was apparating from room to room in his house. Oma was a drill sergeant; Ari had to land exactly where she said, or he had to do it again. She taught him extension charms, although Ari didn't understand how that would help in a battle. At this point, he felt as if his tongue had permanent holes from being bitten so often.

Ari learned how to do a talking patronus. He still didn't see why it was necessary and his teeth once again found their familiar grooves in his tongue, as Oma made him practice repeatedly.

Expulso soon became Ari's next favorite curse. Of course, he could only explode walls that didn't connect to the outside of the house. As much fun as it was, Ari still couldn't see himself ever using it on a person.

It was nice to be able to paralyze his grandmother, although Ari knew he had to lift the curse every time he did it on her, or she would make him work extra. She also had him practice memory charms, but he didn't try it on real people for obvious reasons. Ari learned a tongue tying curse that also seemed useless. He learned the spell for revealing any people on a property.

Ari begged for a break from training. Tatti finally convinced Oma that Ari should really spend his mornings learning gemara and do his training in the afternoon. Oma reluctantly agreed.

"You don't even know that the ministry fell," Tatti challenged when Oma tried arguing.

"They want Harry Potter to question him for Dumbledore's death," Oma retorted. "That's enough proof that the ministry is controlled by death eaters. The whole muggle-born registry is proof that death eaters are in charge."

"Maybe we should take Ari out of school," Tatti said. "He could go back to yeshiva this year."

"Attendance is now compulsory," Oma reminded him.

"So let's move to America," Tatti tried again.

"Ari's a prefect," Oma reminded him. "It's his job to protect the younger students. He won't be able to do that from America. It's a good thing we can trace our ancestry to the time of Shaul Hamelech. Nobody will doubt that Ari is anything but magical. "

"What's going to happen to muggle-borns?" Ari asked fearfully.

"I'm sure it won't be too pleasant," Oma said. "You do your part and protect the school. You can't save everyone. I learned that the hard way."

Ari ordered his school books using owls instead of going to Diagon Alley. He tried convincing his family that it's worth going in order to see the Weasley's store, but they didn't agree. On September 1st, Ari found himself on the Hogwarts Express sitting with the other prefects.

After the prefects' meeting, Ari found Michael and Terry and told them how he spent his summer. They were torn between respect for his grandmother and questioning her sanity. When dementors came on the train, they all used their patronus charms to get rid of them. Ari was relieved when the train finally reached the platform.

Ari's relief vanished during the feast. Snape introduced himself as the new headmaster and gave a speech that sounded as if it supported the death eater beliefs. There were two new teachers, both Professor Carrow, who didn't look like people Ari wanted to mess with.

The first day of class, Ari was surprised to see Muggle Studies on his timetable.

"I don't need Muggle Studies," he told Flitwick, hoping to correct the mistake. "I was muggle raised."

"Muggle Studies and Dark Arts are now mandatory for everyone," Flitwick said. "Otherwise, nobody would choose to take a class with two under qualified professors."

Ari's first class was Muggle Studies.

"It's not possible for two muggles to produce a magical child," Professor Carrow began her lecture.

Ari raised his hand.

"Is there a question, Mr. Goldstein?" Carrow asked suspiciously.

"Is magic a dominant or recessive gene?" Ari asked.

"What are you talking about?" the angry professor asked.

"Well, for example, brown hair is dominant and blond hair is recessive," Ari explained. "Two brown haired parents could only have a blond haired child if both of them have a recessive blond gene. Two blond haired parents can only have blond haired children. If one parent has brown hair and one has blond, it depends if the brown haired parent has two brown genes or one brown and one blond. Either all the kids will be brunettes, or they could have brown or blond haired children. I want to know how it works with magic."

"Where did you hear that nonsense?" Professor Carrow asked.

"Muggle primary school," Ari said cheerfully. "I'm so happy to be learning science here too. That's why I want to know if the magic gene is dominant or recessive."

"Forget the muggle nonsense," Carrow ordered. "If you bring up anything you ever learned in muggle school again, that would mean detention. Do you understand?"

"Does that mean I can't read or write?" Ari asked. "I learned how to do both in muggle school."

"Congratulations," Professor Carrow said. "You have just earned the first detention of the year."

"But I asked a serious question!" Ari protested. "I learned to read and write in muggle primary school. Am I allowed to read and write for this class?"

"Of course," Professor Carrow said. "Now shut your mouth and pay attention."

Ari fumed quietly the rest of class.

Ari was disappointed that he had Dark Arts in the afternoon.

"I hear one of our students already has a detention," Professor Carrow said gleefully. "Come here, Mr. Goldstein. Let me show you what happens to people who get detention in this school."

Ari reluctantly made his way to the front of the classroom.

"Does anyone know any good curses to try on our friend?" Professor Carrow asked, not even trying to hide his joy.

Ari quickly realized that all four houses were together for this class. A few Slytherins raised their hands eagerly. Ari looked pleadingly at Michael and Terry. Terry reluctantly raised his hand. When called on, he came to the front of the room, pointed his wand at Ari, and said, "Stupefy!"

Ari lost consciousness, blissfully unaware of all the other curses and hexes he will soon have to face. He remained oblivious as Slytherins tried a variety of hexes.

"Mr. Malfoy," Professor Carrow said, "I believe you know a curse that is perfect for punishment."

Draco hesitantly went up to the front of the class and said, "Crucio!"

Ari woke up from the pain. He felt his muscles twitching involuntarily and managed not to scream out. He quickly realized that Malfoy was not putting his strength into this curse, as Oma described it as unbearable pain, and Ari was able to bear it.

"Ten points to Slytherin," Professor Carrow said, clapping his hands. "Does anybody else want to try it?"

When Crabbe and Goyle each took their turn, earning Slytherin another ten points each, it was obvious they were trying. This time, Ari couldn't help screaming as he flew in the air and twitched horribly.

"Class dismissed," Professor Carrow finally said.

Ari lay on the floor as most of the class filed out. A few Slytherins managed to kick him or step on him as they exited. Finally, just Ari, Michael, Terry, and Neville were left.

"We'll take you to the hospital wing," Michael told him.

"You have class," Ari said. "McGonagall will give you detention if you're late."

"I don't take Transfiguration," Neville said. "I could take you to the hospital wing."

"Are you sure you can manage yourself?" Terry asked. "Anthony here is a big solid boy."

"Let's ask McGonagall if we could take him and then go to class," Michael suggested.

They levitated Ari and brought him to the Transfiguration classroom.

"Professor," Terry said breathlessly, "Can we take Anthony to the hospital wing and come a few minutes late to class?"

"What happened?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.

"Dark Arts class," Terry answered.

"And why was Mr. Goldstein the unfortunate victim?" McGonagall asked.

"He asked questions that were above our idiot professor's head," Terry said.

"And when told not to do that, he played dumb and acted smart," Michael continued.

"Five points to Ravenclaw," McGonagall said suddenly. "In the future though, it's better that you don't mess with either Professor Carrow. They both have nasty tempers."

Professor McGonagall conjured a stretcher and instructed the three boys to take Ari to the hospital wing. She said that Neville could wait with him, but the other two should come back immediately.

"What do we have here?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Dark Arts class," Terry said as if that explained everything.

Terry and Michael left while Neville sat with Ari. Madam Pompfrey cancelled all the hexes currently in place and offered Ari a pain potion to help with the aftereffects of the cruciatus curse.

"I don't need a pain potion," Ari said, remembering that not all the ingredients are kosher.

"You don't need to be tough," Neville said.

"Actually, I do," Ari said. "You never met my grandmother."

"Oh, you have one of those too?" Neville asked sympathetically.

"I think most people have two sets of grandparents," Ari commented, "although my father's mother is a tough cookie. She saved many people during World War II and she expects me to follow her footsteps."

"My parents were aurors during the last war," Neville confided, "And my grandmother always tells me I will never live up to them."

"My grandmother was training me all summer," Ari told Neville.

"My grandmother doesn't do training," Neville said, "She just tells me how I'm not as brave as my father was."

"Well, now is our chance to prove her wrong," Ari said cheerfully. "Are we doing the DA this year?"

"I think we need to," Neville said. "I'll discuss it with Ginny and Luna. Keep your coin with you just in case."

When Madam Pomfrey let Ari go, the two parted ways, thinking about how they will fulfill their grandmother's expectations.


	33. The Revival of Dumbledore's Army

Ari kept his DA coin with him at all times, and the second it got warm, he notified Michael and Terry. That night, the remainder of the DA gathered in the room of requirement. Neville, Ginny, and Luna were nudging each other, trying to decide who should speak. Finally, Ginny stood up.

"Thank you everyone for coming," Ginny began. "As I'm sure you realize, it is necessary to restart the DA. This time though, our goal isn't only to learn defense. We need to protect ourselves and our school from the three resident death eaters. If anyone has any ideas on how we can do that, please speak up now."

Neville stood up. "I think we need some more members before we can do anything," he said.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Terry asked sarcastically. "If we put up a sign up sheet, we'll have the Carrows joining us."

"A sign up sheet isn't a bad idea," Luna said, "but we can't let the Carrows see it. We need a place that they won't go."

"We first need to spread the word that we need more members," Neville said. "How do we do that?"

"Maybe if we put up signs saying 'Dumbledore's Army still recruiting'," Hannah Abbot suggested.

"We could use spray paint!" Ginny decided. "Fred and George gave me a few bottles for my birthday."

"We should first make sure we're properly disillusioned," Ari said. "I hate to think what would happen if we get caught in the act."

"Who here could do a disillusionment charm?" Neville asked.

Ari immediately raised his hand.

"Good," Neville said, "If you teach a few more people, we can all walk around the castle disillusioned."

Ari demonstrated the spell and everyone tried it on themselves with varying degrees of success.

"That's a good start!" Ginny said cheerfully. "There's also an exciting program on the wireless called Potterwatch. I think we should listen to it to hear the real news."

They all listened as Lee Jordan explained that there was a break-in at the ministry.

"Someone searched the Umbridge toad's office," Lee said cheerfully. "After that, two people, one with a stag patronus and one with an otter patronus, released all the muggle-borns who were waiting for their trials. We suspect that the intruders used polyjuice potion to enter the ministry, pretending to be ministry officials. We congratulate Harry Potter and his friends on a job well done, and advise them to be careful in the future."

There was other news too. A man who Ginny identified as Kingsley Shacklebolt explained that there is a taboo on you-know-who's name and anyone who says the name will immediately cancel all wards and protective spells in the area and alert the death eaters. He explained that the ministry is under death eater control. After giving some more updates about the news, there was some joking around by the members of this new show. Finally, Lee gave the password for the next show and ended the program. Ari couldn't wait to tell his grandmother about it.

That night, the DA snuck into the great hall and spray painted all the walls with big letters reading "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY STILL RECRUITING." The next day, nobody was surprised to see signs in all the common rooms stating that all clubs are banned and that meetings with more than three students are against school rules.

On Friday afternoon, Ari went to Professor Flitwick's office, ready to floo home.

"As of now, neither of the Carrows is aware that you go home for Shabbos," Professor Flitwick said. "If they're monitoring the floo, they will find out. Do you remember when Umbridge cornered you about it?"

"Of course," Ari said. "I think I can handle the Carrows. If not, I'm sure my grandmother will teach me how to make a portkey and I can portkey in and out as needed."

"I hope you don't get in trouble," Professor Flitwick said. "Good luck!"

Ari stepped into the floo and soon found himself home. He told his family what is happening at Hogwarts.

"I could get plane tickets for America right after Shabbos," Tatti said immediately.

"There's no need," Oma said. "We don't run from trouble. Ari is a big boy and as a prefect, he will help protect the school. He already taught the DA a charm and stood up to death eaters. The best thing is to stay and fight it out."

"You need some protection against those curses," Mommy said. "It's not acceptable for a teacher to encourage students to hurt each other."

"I taught Ari how to dodge and block curses," Oma said. "I think if you do that, you could teach your class more than your teacher is."

"I'm not getting any more detentions," Ari said. "I wrote some gag essays for muggle studies, but I'm not handing them in under my own name. I'm tempted to put names of students on the run, but I don't want them to get in trouble for it if they ever get caught."

"Put on the name of someone who died," Mommy suggested. "Can you imagine if the Carrows would suddenly start receiving essays completed by Albus Dumbledore?"

"The only problem is that I could get caught when handing them in," Ari said.

"Leave it on the desk or in the office when nobody is around," Mommy said. "It just means you'll miss the reaction."

Ari agreed that it was a good idea.

When Shabbos was over, Ari floo'd back to Hogwarts and wasn't surprised to see three professors waiting for him.

"Gut voch!" Ari said cheerfully.

"What nonsense are you speaking?" the female Carrow asked.

"I'm sorry," Ari apologized, "I forgot you only speak English. I wished you a good week. My family still follows wizarding traditions dating back to the days of King Saul who was king of Israel from 1052 until 1025 BCE. I guess your family was still muggle back then if you are not familiar with old wizarding traditions."

"Crucio!" Professor Carrow lifted her wand and sent the curse toward Ari.

Ari dodged out of the way.

"My family is part of the sacred 28," Carrow yelled at Ari.

"Mine isn't," Ari said, "but that's because they were in Germany until 1938. There are only three muggles in my entire family tree and two of them were before 1025 BCE."

"That doesn't give you the right to go home every week," the male Carrow said.

"Actually, it does," Ari responded. "It is a wizarding tradition dating back to before the calendar years started. Hogwarts always accommodated those of all religions, and going home for Shabbos is one of my accommodations."

"Very well," Professor Snape said, "If you earn any future detentions, they will take place on Friday night. Make sure you don't do anything that will get you in trouble."

"Yes sir," Ari said, wondering if Snape was giving in to avoid going through his family history.

"What do you know about Dumbledore's Army?" Snape asked.

"Dumbledore died last June," Ari said calmly, "Therefore, he can't be forming an army."

"Didn't you notice the graffiti in the great hall?" Snape glared at Ari.

"Of course," Ari said, "and I assumed it was someone's idea of a joke since we were all at Dumbledore's funeral last year."

"Are you always this clueless?" the female Carrow asked.

"My friends tease me that I am," Ari admitted. "They say that I'm so self absorbed that I don't notice anything else going on."

"Well, if you do notice anything, let a professor know," Professor Snape said. "I noticed the attention you pay to detail in your potions over the years. Start paying attention to the world around you."

Ari agreed and walked away, glad that he got out of this confrontation without any detentions.

The next few weeks dragged on. Ari had fun with his muggle studies assignments. Terry read one titled "Why muggles are superior to wizards" to the DA and they all liked Ari's idea of bogus assignments, although none of them had time to contribute. They continued advertising for the DA until Ginny was called into Snape's office for questioning.

"I saw Gryffindor's sword in Snape's office!" Ginny told everyone. "I have to get it to send to Harry. Dumbledore left it to him in his will."

Ginny, Neville, and Luna made plans for stealing the sword while others would be wreaking havoc elsewhere in the school. On the chosen night, they divided into groups of three. Ari's group was him, Terry, and Michael. After everyone was disillusioned, they each picked an area to stage their pranks. Ari and his friends went out on the grounds for a fireworks display. They used the Weasley's fireworks that multiply when hit with spells. Ernie's group was in the great hall. They used graffiti to put all sorts of messages all over the hall. Parvati's group focused on the entrance hall. While the Carrows ran around trying to catch the invisible groups of pranksters, Snape headed to his office as Ginny, Neville, and Luna were leaving with the sword. The three had detention with Hagrid in the forbidden forest. The others agreed that it was the most fun night since school started.


	34. Seamus Finnigan has a Big Mouth

Ari missed a nice amount of school in October because of yom tov. When the Carrows objected, Oma taught Ari how to make a portkey, and Ari was able to portkey in and out for class. Pranks like they did the night of the sword were becoming more common, although it wasn't really worth the risk of being caught. The Carrows liked to crucio students, and Ari didn't see how a few pranks could justify torture. The DA graffiti continued in the hope that new members would join. Snape questioned each student separately before holding Ginny responsible and banning her from all future Hogsmeade weekends.

Strict rules affected the entire wizarding Britain. There was curfew on the whole village of Hogsmeade. Ari was no longer allowed to go home for Shabbos, but he did anyway, using portkeys.

Dementors were guarding every exit to the school. Ari was never aware of a secret tunnel to Honeydukes, but found out from others who were no longer able to use it.

Detentions involved different kinds of torture. While the Cruciatus curse was the favorite, students were also chained up if they really annoyed the Carrows, which wasn't so hard to do. The DA worked hard, untying students without getting caught themselves.

Ari sat nervously in his Dark Arts class. Ever since the first class, he was wary of Professor Carrow.

"Today, I expect all of you to do the Cruciatus curse," Carrow said. "I brought in a student who received detention to practice on."

"Isn't that illegal?" Neville asked. "As a professor, you should be encouraging us to keep the laws."

Neville found himself under the cruciatus curse during the first minute of class.

Carrow opened the door and led Ginny Weasley in. First, the professor eagerly demonstrated the curse on poor Ginny. He explained that you really have to mean it for it to work.

Crabbe and Goyle were the first two to volunteer to do the curse. After that, one student at a time was called forward. Anyone who refused was cursed themselves. When it was Ari's turn, he asked if he could talk to Ginny first.

"What are you going to do, apologize in advance?" Carrow teased.

"I want her opinion on the best course of action," Ari said mildly.

"She's not going to want you to curse her," Carrow scorned. "Why would she want to suffer?"

"She wouldn't want others to get cursed for her either," Ari retorted. "That's why I want to talk to her first."

Carrow agreed.

"How good of an actress are you?" Ari whispered.

"Very good," Ginny said, catching on quick. "If you can fake the cursing part, I'll pretend to be cursed."

"Crucio!" Ari said, without moving his wand.

Ginny pretended to be suffering from the curse. When Ari returned to his seat, he whispered to his friends that they only pretended. Others did that too, but Neville stubbornly refused to even pretend.

At the next DA meeting, they discussed whether it's better to pretend or refuse.

"I don't want anyone to even think I would consider cursing someone like that," Neville said forcefully.

"I respect that," Ari said. "There's actually a famous Jewish story about a man who pretended something in order to avoid being killed, and then asked if he could have his tongue cut off as a punishment. At the same time, I don't like being tortured myself. If we fake it, nobody gets hurt."

They agreed to disagree with each person deciding to make their own decision.

Ari managed to control his mouth during Muggle Studies by writing his silly essays. He did an essay on why muggles aren't animals explaining that animals don't speak and muggles do. He also explained that biologically, there is no difference in wizards and muggles other than the gene that affects magic. Not to mention, that it's illegal to marry an animal, but it's not illegal to marry a muggle. Of course, he also included that muggles wear clothes, live in houses, and have their own government. He waited impatiently for the reaction to his paper. Of course, Albus Dumbledore wrote that paper, so Ari never found out his grade. Terry asked Ari to rewrite "Why Muggles are Superior to Wizards" and used a permanent sticking charm to hang it to the door of the Muggle Studies Classroom.

At the next DA meeting, Ginny said that her class was now assigned the essay of why wizards are superior to muggles. She requested permission to copy Dumbledore's essay from the classroom door. Ari advised her that it may not have good consequences.

Muggle Studies was often interesting despite the fact that Ari held his tongue. Other students, especially Seamus, had trouble keeping quiet, and Ari often found their comments entertaining, even if the reactions weren't.

"Does you-know-who keep up with you?" Seamus asked during one lesson.

"Of course," Carrow said.

"And he knows how we all talk back to you?" Seamus continued.

"Crucio!" Carrow cursed, instead of answering the question.

As Ari watched Seamus suffer, he found himself wondering why Gryffindors could be so stupid.

"You can never trust a muggle," Professor Carrow began her next lesson.

"I haven't met a muggle less trustworthy than you yet," Seamus called out.

"Detention!" Carrow barked. "Tonight at six!"

Stupid Gryffindors, Ari thought.

"Wizards should never marry muggles," Carrow began her next lesson. "The result would be children who are physically and mentally deformed."

"That explains it," Seamus called out. "Which of your parents are muggles?"

Ari watched as Seamus was crucio'd for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He wondered when he would learn to keep his mouth shut.

"I have lots of great pictures of Harry!" Luna told everyone at one meeting. "Colin sent them."

"I thought all our mail is searched," Ginny commented.

"He gave them to my father to use for The Quibbler," Luna explained. "My father sent them to me in a box labeled sanitary materials. I doubt that anyone wants to open that."

"We could hang them all around the great hall with permanent sticking charms!" Seamus suggested.

That night, the disillusioned DA redecorated the great hall again. Seamus didn't notice his charm wore off and started hanging pictures in the entrance hall after everyone else left.

The next morning, Seamus was chained up in the front of the great hall. Ari covered his face and cried when Seamus was whipped in front of the whole school.

The first term eventually ended, and Ari joined the others heading home on the Hogwarts Express. Everyone was surprised when death eaters boarded the train in the middle, and kidnapped Luna Lovegood.


	35. Approaching the Battle

Oma spent the holidays training Ari again. She insisted that the only way he can succeed in school this year is by being trained by her. Once again, Ari found himself dodging and blocking curses. He also had to practice all the hexes he did in the summer plus he covered a nice amount of sixth year transfiguration. He practiced doing silent charms and hexes.

Ari's family also discussed the news. They saved all the copies of the Quibbler that they got so far in case Ari missed anything when he was in school. They also enjoyed listening to Potterwatch. Tatti had to buy a wizarding wireless since they always used a muggle radio before, but this program was worth listening to.

Over the holidays, The Quibbler stopped reporting news and started reporting death eater propaganda. Ari explained that Luna was kidnapped from the train and probably her father is cooperating in order to get her back.

Ari reluctantly went back to school after the holidays. The Carrows insisted on searching everyone's luggage in the entrance hall, hoping to prevent any more pranks like the ones that took place in the fall semester. It got interesting when they got to Seamus.

"There's nothing in there for you," Seamus told the Carrows.

"You need to let us check," the male Carrow said.

Seamus managed to pull off a confundus charm on both professors before leaving with his unchecked bag.

"I'm hoping you have good things there," Ginny told Seamus.

"Of course I do," Seamus said. "The question is when is the best time to use our fireworks?"

They agreed to save them for when they need distractions.

Ari's bag check was also interesting.

"What are these?" the male Carrow asked, gesturing toward the piles of yarmulkes and tzitzis.

"Clothing," Ari said confidently.

"What language are these books in?" Carrow asked, taking out Ari's siddur, chumash and gemara.

"Hebrew," Ari told him, "The first language ever developed. When the world was first created, everyone spoke Hebrew. It wasn't until more than ten generations after the world was created that people started speaking other languages."

Carrow gave Ari an odd look before moving on.

The DA continued to meet without Luna. They tried listening to Potterwatch, but it was off the air until March.

"I could transfigure water into firewhiskey," Seamus announced at a DA meeting.

"That's not possible," Michael told him.

"All transfigurations are possible," Seamus said. "Does anyone want a drink?"

Not much was accomplished at that meeting. Ari watched everyone else get drunk and was relieved that firewhiskey isn't kosher.

One day, Ginny announced that Hagrid was having a support Harry Potter party. Everyone agreed that it was a crazy idea, but somehow, the entire DA made it.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," Hagrid said when he saw the crowd."Oh, it looks like more people are coming."

A quick glance out the window showed some familiar adults slowly approaching Hagrid's hut.

"That's the Carrows and Snape!" Ginny called, peeking out the window.

A bunch of disillusionment charms later, everyone was safely back at school, leaving Hagrid and his giant brother to deal with the death eaters.

Ari listened to the next Potterwatch report with his family when he was home for Purim. They all laughed at Weasley's jokes although Oma wished she could do more to help.

Almost the entire school went home for Easter Holidays this year. The few who didn't were unfortunate enough to see you-know-who at the school.

Ari spent most of Pesach training with his grandmother again. He tried telling her that he's not going to face any dark wizards in school except for his professors, but Oma insisted that he can't be too prepared.

After the holidays, the room of requirement became home for those who needed to escape. It happened gradually. The DA couldn't do as much since they were missing two out of their three leaders. They still did small things, but tried not to get caught.

"They chained up a first year!" Susan announced during one meeting. "The poor kid probably doesn't even know what he did! We can't leave him!"

"I'll get him," Michael said. "Someone else could stage a distraction."

"I love doing distractions," Seamus called out. "I think I still have some fireworks that I smuggled in."

Seamus set off his fireworks outside while Michael sneaked down to the dungeons to get the first year. Ari and Terry nervously stood guard. When they saw the female Carrow coming, Ari sent Michael a talking patronus and two of them ran off.

Michael didn't return to the dorm that night. The next morning, he was brought in front of the great hall for a public punishment. The whole school was expected to sit quietly and watch as Michael endured several rounds of the cruciatus curse, sectrumseptra, impedimenta, and stinging hexes. Finally, Michael is removed from the great hall and sent to the hospital wing.

Dark Arts classes were getting worse. Carrow was having lots of fun teaching students curses to do on each other. Finally Neville couldn't take it anymore.

"Stupefy!" he said, stunning his professor.

Three quarters of the class ran out while the Slytherins attended to their professor.

Neville found himself in detention that night. It wasn't an unusual occurrence. The Slytherins who stayed in class all took turns putting him under the cruciatus curse. As Neville staggered to his feet to leave after the detention, he saw some death eaters waiting for him.

"Over here!" Ari whispered loudly.

Neville followed his voice and was immediately grabbed by a disillusioned Seamus.

"They're coming to arrest you," Seamus explained. "We saw them coming in and eavesdropped. You need to hide in the room!"

The entire DA blocked the death eaters as Neville ran to the room of requirement.

"Where is Longbottom?" Carrow asked during the next dark arts class.

Nobody answered.

"For once, the big mouth is quiet?" Carrow said, looking at Seamus. "You always have answers to everything. Answer me now!"

"He probably went on holiday," Seamus suggested. "After all the nights he had to spend with you and your ugly sister, can you blame him for leaving?"

The whole class watched in horror as Carrow beat Seamus up. As he lost consciousness and bled on the floor, the remaining members of the DA decided to do something. Ari confunded Carrow, while Ernie and Terry did the Slytherins. Meanwhile, Lavender, Parvati, and Padma brought Seamus to the room of requirement.

Without Seamus running his mouth in Muggle Studies, Ari could no longer keep quiet.

"Blood traitors are almost as bad as muggleborns," Carrow said.

"Who decides what makes someone a blood traitor?" Ari challenged.

"A blood traitor is someone who doesn't recognize the superiority of pure bloods," Carrow explained.

"I wonder what Professor Dumbledore's opinion is on that topic," Ari said, causing Michael and Terry to snicker.

"Are you the one writing Dumbledore's essays?" Carrow demanded.

"Dumbledore always wrote his own essays," Ari said innocently. "Of course, now that he's dead, he's not writing anything."

"Someone has been leaving foolish essays on my desk all year with Dumbledore's name on them," Carrow explained. "I would like to know who is behind it. I always assumed it was Finnegan, but he's gone now, and they're still coming."

"I never knew Finnegan was a good writer," Ari commented.

"We all know that you are," Carrow countered. "Are you responsible for the essays?"

"Why don't you ask Dumbledore's portrait how they're being written?" Ari suggested. "I'm sure he has interesting techniques for sharing his views."

Ari finds himself knocked back onto his desk and cruciated. When told that he has detention that night, he boldly announced that he was writing Dumbledore's essays all year before running to the room of requirement, knowing that he can't show his face in class again.

Ari sent a message to his family that he is safe and hiding with other DA escapees in the room of requirement. He explained that they get food from Hog's Head which isn't kosher. He got a message back from his grandmother saying that she brought a loaf of bread and a pack of kosher cheese to the Hog's Head and told Aberforth to keep Ari's food separate and fresh. He will tell her when something gets used up and she will replace it.

Ari wasn't going to risk going home for Shabbos again. He didn't want to compromise the safety of the room by using a portkey, and the only Hogwarts students who knew that he could make a portkey were himself, Michael and Terry. Ari didn't want anybody else to find out unless it was absolutely necessary.

Michael joined them in the room when he was discharged from the hospital wing. He didn't feel up to going to class again and didn't want a repeat of his previous torture.

Over the next few weeks, more students found themselves living in the room. Neville kept insisting that Harry will show up any day and lead them in a battle against the Carrows. He made sure they all kept up their training for that time.

"You remind me of my grandmother," Ari complained.

"My grandmother is proud of how we're fighting," Neville told him. "She's on the run now too. She stunned the auror who came to capture her."

But bantering about grandmothers didn't stop Neville. He was ready for war.

In May, there was a special update on Potterwatch stating that Harry, Ron and Hermione escaped Gringotts on a dragon after a successful break in. Terry was visiting the room when they heard the broadcast and ran to the great hall to share the news with everyone eating dinner.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione broke into Gringotts!" he shouted. "They escaped on a dragon!"

People started cheering until the Carrows beat Terry up. Poor Terry was stomped on and cruciated before Padma grabbed him and brought him to the room of requirement. Now the entire DA was confined to the room.


	36. Battle of Hogwarts

"Harry will probably be here soon!" Neville announced to the DA.

"You think?" Michael asked skeptically.

"Nah," Ari said. "Neville doesn't think. He leaves all the thinking to us."

"He probably got the sword from Gringotts," Neville said. "He should be here soon to help us fight!"

"Did you have too much firewhisky?" Seamus asked.

"Make fun of me all you want," Neville said, "But we need to get ready to fight. Harry will be here any day for the final battle."

"I fought already today," Terry told him. "I'm ready for a holiday."

"Come on!" Neville urged everyone. "We need to practice –"

But they never found out what they need to practice. Everyone was surprised when Arianna walked in from her portrait and gestured to Neville.

"Do you need me to come?" Neville asked. "Is Harry here already?"

Arianna beckoned with her hand and Neville followed her. They all tried to guess what Arianna really wanted until Neville returned a few minutes later.

"Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?" Neville screamed when he came back to the room.

Sure enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione were with him. After Neville explained that they were living in the room for safety reasons, Harry announced that he just came to do something and then he's leaving. The entire DA argued with him that they need to help. After the old DA members who graduated or were on the run joined them, Harry agreed.

Ari, Terry, and Michael wondered what Ravenclaw item it was that Harry needed. They didn't see how the lost diadem could be in school and wondered what Harry was really up to.

Luna went with Harry to show him the Ravenclaw common room while the whole order of the phoenix came. While waiting for Harry and Luna to come back, Ron and Hermione left the safety of the room, saying that they need the bathroom. Ari was tempted to tell them that there was a bathroom up there, but decided to stay out of it. Harry came back and announced that they're meeting in the great hall to fight. Ari sent a message to his grandmother before joining his friends at the Ravenclaw table.

When you-know-who announced that he wants Potter, Ari stood with the rest of the Ravenclaws blocking Pansy from grabbing him. He wondered if his grandmother would come.

Ari was assigned to the group going to the Ravenclaw tower. He got a message from his grandmother that she is waiting outside the gates but doesn't want to mess with Hogwarts security by portkeying in.  
She'll fight the death eaters if they try to breach the wards.

Ari saw large crowds of death eaters near the gate. He noticed his grandmother too.

"Stunning spells when the death eaters get close enough," Flitwick told his group.

As the death eaters enter Hogwarts grounds, Ari saw his grandmother start to fight. When the death eaters got closer, everyone in the Ravenclaw tower did stunning spells. They watched as some of the death eaters fell while others continued. The stunners bounced off the giants. When the remaining death eaters saw where the spells were coming from, they shot spells at the tower. Ari managed an impediment jinx before firing another stunner.

When the tower starts to shake, Ari ran into the corridors with his team, shooting stunners at every death eater he saw. He was ready to run back to the crumbling Ravenclaw tower when he saw the acromantula. He ran in the other direction, dodging killing curses while trying to imagine it's his grandmother sending her green light. Ari stunned one death eater and shot another one with jelly legs. He ran into the great hall and saw a table on fire. He shot a quick aguamenti and tried to figure out what to do next. He wondered what happened to Oma. A death eater approached him and Ari fired a silencing charm. He did a shield charm to block an unknown silence hex. He disarmed the unknown death eater and pocketed his wand, figuring it was good to have a back up.

Ari rejoined his group, hoping nobody noticed him running from spiders. They were out on the grounds now, fighting groups of death eaters.

"Confingo!" Ari shouted when he saw a death eater on the wall. He watched with satisfaction as the wall tumbled down. Maybe Oma's training wasn't so bad after all.

The group ran together, stunning death eaters in their way. Ari just wanted to find his grandmother.

Ari managed to dodge a cruciatus curse before disarming the death eater who fired it. He now had three wands. He managed to disarm another death eater, thinking that with four wands, he can help anyone from his side that loses theirs. He was disappointed however when the death eater yanked the wand back from him. Ari used his rugby skills to escape the death eater's grasp. He shielded a cutting hex and cast a body bind on the death eater.

The next death eater sent a killing curse at Ari. At this point, he lost his group, but he didn't care. He just wanted to know that Oma was safe.

Ari disillusioned himself and watched others fight. He saw some impressive spell casting on both sides, but didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. He disarmed another death eater but didn't try to grab the wand this time. He didn't want a repeat of his last attempt. He stunned the death eater instead.

Ari soon found himself surrounded by dementors. He couldn't maintain a patronus long enough and was relieved when Kingsley rescued him.

"Where's your group?" Kingsley demanded.

"I got separated when I tried to steal a fourth wand," Ari explained. "If you know of anyone who needs a wand, I have two spears. I stopped trying to steal wands after that death eater had me in a headlock."

"Join a group, any group," Kingsley said. "It's not safe to be on your own."

"My grandmother is here somewhere," Ari told him.

"Was that the old lady fighting near the gate?" Kingsley asked.

"Did you see what happened to her?" Ari asked anxiously.

"She was-" Kingsley was interrupted by a giant heading towards them.

"Stupefy!" Ari shouted and watched his spell bounce off.

Kingsley fired a conjunctivitis curse instead.

"At least it will distract him," Kingsley said.

"Where's my grandmother?" Ari tried again.

"Crucio!" they hear a voice call out and they both dodged to the side.

Ari shot a stunner at the death eater, but she blocked it. He tried disarming her, but she shielded it and the spell went back to him. She seemed surprised when he took a second wand out of his pocket as if this was an expected occurrence. The next spell shot was a killing curse. Kingsley shoved Ari out of the way hard. She fired a blasting curse which Kingsley deflected.

"Run!" Kingsley told Ari. "I'll deal with her. This is the worst of the death eaters."

Ari was eager to go off again in search of his grandmother. He once again disillusioned himself before running at top speed towards the gates.

It isn't long before Ari found himself dueling another death eater. When it looked like he was losing, he unleashed one of his powerful football kicks and watched the unfortunate death eater fall down. He followed with a stunning spell. Somehow, the kick was more fun than using a wand. Ari stomped on the death eater's wand before continuing his hunt.

Ari shot a stinging hex at the next death eater he passed. It wasn't too impressive, but it left its mark. He just wanted to get to the gates.

"Avada Kedavra!" a death eater shouted while firing the curse at Ari.

Ari dodged, disarmed, and stunned the death eater. He was relieved that his second wand was working for him, and took the death eater's wand to add to his collection.

Ari continued to run but that stupid giant was heading toward him again. He suddenly remembered Oma's many means of escape.

"Accio broom!" he shouted. He was relieved when the broom came to his hand and flew high above the giant's head. He flew off towards the gate but stopped when he heard a familiar scary voice announcing that they have an hour break from fighting in order to dispose of the dead and treat the injured.


	37. It Ain't Over Till the Fat People Sing

Ari continued flying towards the gate, lowering himself and peering down whenever he saw a body on the floor, trying to see if it was Oma. Kingsley was trying to tell him something, but what was it? Kingsley's exact words were "She was". He got interrupted before he could say what she was. Was he trying to say that she was killed? Was she injured? Maybe Kingsley meant that she was very helpful? Ari wished that sentence was completed. Eventually, he reached the gates and still didn't find his grandmother.

Ari turned around and flew back to the castle, continuing to hover over each body to check if it was her. At one point, he found his wand and picked it up. Finally, he flew into the entrance hall and into the great hall. Madam Pomfrey was treating the injured on a platform. Dead bodies were in the middle of the hall. Ari started flying over the bodies.

"Goldstein!" he heard McGonagall shout. "Why are you flying a broom indoors?"

"I'm looking for my grandmother," Ari said.

"I'm right here," Oma called out. "Why did you summon your broom?"

"I had to get away from the giants," Ari explained, running to Oma.

McGonagall asked those who weren't injured to bring in the bodies from the grounds and castle. Ari remembered peering down at bodies and felt a wave of nausea at the thought of his next task. He instead levitated piles of rubble and extracted bodies from there. He hoped that anyone he pulled out would just be injured and not dead, but he wouldn't know for sure. Whenever it was a death eater body, he also took the wand. Ari realized that the reason there were so much fewer death eater bodies was because his side wasn't aiming to kill. They mostly stunned, and those who they killed were usually by accident. The other side, on the other hand, killed for the fun of it. He wondered what went wrong with them psychologically to cause them to be such miserable people.

Oma helped with healing the injured. Madam Pomfrey needed the help of anyone who knew healing spells, as there were many injured.

After fifty-five minutes, McGonagall called everyone together to regroup. Ari took out his wand collection so that anyone who lost their wand could use one from him.

"I thought you stopped collecting wands after a death eater had you in a headlock," Kingsley said.

"I continued when it became convenient again," Ari told him. "What were you trying to tell me about my grandmother? I was imagining the worst."

"I was going to say that she was very clever by fighting the death eaters from within," Kingsley explained. "She entered with them so they assumed she was one of them. When she started hexing them, they were surprised."  
Before they could start fighting again, there was an announcement that Harry was killed while trying to run away. The dark idiot seemed to think that everyone would come out and bow to him.

"I bet Harry gave himself up," Ari told Michael and Terry.

"He probably thought the fighting would stop if he did," Michael agreed. "Obviously, you know who doesn't keep his word."

They all left the castle together to see Hagrid holding a dead Harry. Everyone was screaming the same time, so Ari knew his words weren't heard but that didn't stop him from yelling.

"You lied," he yelled. "You said nobody else will die if he gives himself up!"

Soon, nobody was able to talk anymore. Voldermort started giving a speech about how Harry relied on others to sacrifice themselves and the screaming started again.

"He's all mixed up," Ari commented. "Harry sacrificed himself for everyone else. He never wanted anyone else to be sacrificed and tried not to let us fight."

Once again, everyone was silenced. Neville charged at Voldermort and lost his wand.

"Dumbledore's Army!" Neville called, and Ari cheered with the rest, although he didn't know what Neville expected.

Ari watched in horror as Voldermort put the burning sorting hat on Neville and was amazed when Neville killed the snake. As giants tried to trample the crowd, Ari ran with everyone else back into the school.

This time, Ari stayed with his grandmother. She disillusioned both of them and they shot spells at any death eaters who seemed to be overcoming the people they were dueling. There seemed to be lots of skill on both sides, and Ari would have loved to sit back and watch the show, but Oma wouldn't let him. Everyone was surprised when Harry reappeared, very much alive.

Ari listened to the dialogue between Harry and you know who, not really understanding all of it. He watched as you know who was killed by his own killing curse.

"I'm taking Ari home," Oma told McGonagall. "Should I assume classes are finished for the year?"

"We'll have to arrange a time and place for NEWT exams," McGonagall said. "I'll send you an owl with any information we get."

As soon as Ari and Oma reached the gates, they apparated home.

"You realize that today is Shabbos?" Oma asked Ari.

"I'm sorry I called you away on Shabbos," Ari apologized. "Yesterday, I was getting ready for Shabbos, but when Harry came, I completely lost track of the time and day."

"That's understandable," Oma said. "Pekuach nefesh comes before Shabbos. We were allowed to be mechallel Shabbos to save lives."

Ari was surprised to see his mother saying tehillim in the living room.

"You're home!" Mommy exclaimed. "Are you both okay?"

"We're both fine," Oma said, "Just tired."

"Why are you up?" Ari asked his mother.

"I spent the whole night davening for you," Mommy said.

"I kept telling her to go to sleep," Tatti said, walking into the room, "but she insisted she has to say tehillim until she hears that you're safe."

"Did you sleep?" Oma asked curiously.

"How was I supposed to sleep?" Tatti asked. "Obviously, I was worried."

"Why didn't you come fight?" Ari asked.

"Oma came to help you," Tatti said. "There was no reason for both of us not to keep Shabbos."

"Why don't you get some sleep now?" Mommy asked.

"I don't want to miss shacharis," Ari said.

"We still have a few hours," Tatti told him.

Ari went to his room and put his wand in a drawer. After all, he won't need it again until he needs to tell his own kids that magic is real.

A few hours later, Ari woke up and went to shul with his father. He expected his family to sleep through the meal and was surprised when his father started singing zemiros. He sounded like he had enough sleep, and the whole family joined along. Ari was happy to be home. He knew that his journey into the magical world was finally over.


End file.
